Maruti’s road to continuous success in Indian market: From then to now

On this day, 37 years ago, the first locally made Maruti 800 was delivered to Harpal Singh. The Japanese carmaker, which entered the Indian market as a joint venture with the Government of India, has come a long way, creating several milestones. With 15 models and a market share of close to 50 per cent, it rules the Indian market, selling almost 1.5 million units every year — rolling out one model every ten seconds.

No other market has seen the gap between the top two players as wide as this. In FY20, Maruti’s share was 50.99 percent, while Hyundai, the second-largest in the pecking order, had a share of 17.5 per cent. Maruti Suzuki India’s sales account for half of Suzuki Motor Corp’s global volumes. Even as the competition in the PV market is increasing, analysts expect the company to be in the pole position, and have revised the price target to Rs 9,100.

In October 1983, production under the JVA being flagged off

In December 1983, then Indian PM Indira Gandhi is being shown a model of the Maruti plant in Gurugram, Haryana

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor