The country’s largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki’s market share in November fell below the 50 per cent mark, thanks to rising competition.

The fall in the market share for the auto majors comes amidst the runaway sales growth reported by new entrants Kia Motors and MG Motors and home-grown company Tata Motors in the last three months.

Maruti’s market share in November 2019 was 55 per cent in the passenger vehicle segment, which has come down to 51 per cent in November this year. Similarly, between April and November 2019, its market share was 50.68 per cent, which has fallen down to 48.5 per cent in the same period this year.

“Market share depends on several factors and one month data is inaccurate to come to a conclusion. Maruti Suzuki’s market share in the retail segment, which reflects actual sale to customers, is more than 50 per cent in November and for the current fiscal,” Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director (Marketing & Sales), MSIL, told BusinessLine .

The company‘s retail market share jumped 5 per cent year-on-year in November and the company’s retail sales increased by 68.3 per cent (1,67,500 units in November 2020 as against 99,500 in November 2019), he said.

“A reason behind less wholesale last month was record-low factory inventory and production constraints due to higher number of holidays due to festivals. In November, the opening stock was very low because of record dispatches in October,” Srivastava added.

Because of the pandemic this year and issues around inventories at the dealerships, the companies are focussing on the retail sales, rather than wholesales (despatches to dealers from factories), said analysts.

“This year has been extraordinary altogether compared to previous years, and companies are focused on actual sales numbers (retails) than wholesale. These numbers are giving them proper picture on where the demand is coming from,” said a Delhi-based analyst.

Kia Motors and MG Motor have been reporting retail sales numbers since they entered the Indian market last year.

Another reason why other manufacturers have gained market share is that they have launched new models over the last one year, while Maruti did not have a all-new product to excite the Indian consumers.

In the sub-four meter SUVs, in particular, Sonet is leading the market, beating erstwhile market leader Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and Hyundai Venue.

And, in new launches, Tata Motors has introduced some solid products like the Altroz and Nexon, which have eaten into the market share of many competitors in the premium hatchback and compact SUV segments, respectively.