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Bloomberg
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.’s decision two years ago to start a separate network of premium showrooms is starting to pay off, as India’s biggest automaker reaps higher sales of more expensive models.
The unit of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp. said an increase in share of “higher-segment models†and running factories at full capacity helped boost net income by 16 percent to 17.09 billion rupees ($266.6 million) in the quarter ended March. The automaker sees a strong product portfolio, favorable interest rates and improvement in market sentiment, according to a stock exchange filing on Thursday.
India’s top-selling automaker started a separate network of showrooms in 2015 to give customers a premium shopping experience in a bid to increase its sales of higher-priced models. The company also rode a rebound in demand with its models including the Vitara Brezza SUV and Baleno hatchback after deliveries slumped in December when the government’s move to withdraw old high-denomination banknotes led to a cash crunch.
Shares of Maruti rose 0.3 percent to 6,426.05 rupees as of 1:56 p.m. in Mumbai. The company increased the full-year dividend to 75 rupees a share from 35 rupees a year earlier.
Domestic deliveries for Maruti rose 15 percent in the quarter, outpacing the 11 percent growth in industrywide sales. Utility vehicle sales surged 72 percent, while deliveries of passenger-car models including the Alto minicar and Swift hatchback climbed 8.4 percent.