30-10-2020

�Festive season ends in mid-November. But I do not expect the slump in sales at least until December. As for January next year, we all need to observe", said a top official of Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) on Thursday.

As per the company, its overall sales were good during October. Particularly in the Navratri period, sales were at 96,700 units, up from that in the same month last year.

�There won�t be much difference in sales for this October compared to last year. However, November this year should be better in terms of sales,� RC Bhargava, chairman, MSIL, told the reporters during a press conference.

Last year, festivals like Dhanteras and Diwali were in October. This year they are on November 13 and 14, respectively.

For Maruti Suzuki, the country�s largest carmaker, rural sales are expected to continue to grow. �But we don't know how the urban demand will be and how much income people in urban markets will be left with.�

After reporting its first quarterly loss, at least in the past 15 years, for the first quarter of this financial year, the carmaker with around 50% of market share in the domestic passenger vehicle segment, reported a marginal growth of 1.0% in standalone profit at INR 1,371.6 crore for the second quarter (July-September).

�We cannot term this as growth as we are much lower than we were two years ago. I would call it a rebound when sales exceed at least 10% of what we sold in FY 2018-19,� Bhargava said.