Rama Krishna Sangem
Imagine the journey of Maruti Suzuki – once looked down as small carmaker of India, Maruti Suzuki today is in the top 10 list of global automobile giants. If we see t he history of Maruti Suzuki, it is interesting story. Started by late Sanjay Gandhi, second son of late PM Indira Gandhi in 1971, Maruti, a first small car of India, was taken over by Japanese company Suzuki in 1981. In the early days, Maruti Suzuki is known for only small cars, catering to the entry level segment.
But, now Maruti Suzuki India has entered the elite list of the world’s top car manufacturers by market value, climbing to the eighth position globally. With a market capitalisation of around $57.6 billion, the Indian automaker has overtaken major global brands like Ford, General Motors and Volkswagen, The Economic Times reported citing ETIG figures.
The company, which is the largest subsidiary of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corporation, has even surpassed its parent company in valuation. Suzuki’s market cap currently stands at about $29 billion, significantly lower than its Indian unit.
Maruti now ranks just below Honda Motor ($59 billion) and is ahead of legacy giants like Ford ($46.3 billion), GM ($57.1 billion), and Volkswagen AG ($55.7 billion), whose positions have either slipped or remained stagnant in recent weeks.
Elon Musk’s Tesla top carmaker
Globally, Tesla leads the automotive industry by a wide margin, valued at $1.47 trillion. It is followed by Toyota ($314 billion), BYD ($133 billion), Ferrari ($92.7 billion), BMW ($61.3 billion) and Mercedes-Benz ($59.8 billion).
Maruti’s strong focus on small cars, which make up over 60 per cent of its sales, and its gains from the new GST reforms introduced on 22 September have further boosted investor confidence.
75,000 units sold since Sept 22
Since the onset of Navratri and the introduction of the GST 2.0 regime, Maruti Suzuki India has recorded retail sales reaching 75,000 units, PTI reported citing a senior company official on Thursday. The company is currently receiving nearly 80,000 inquiries daily, which is almost double the usual 40,000 to 45,000 inquiries per day.
Moreover, Maruti Suzuki is processing close to 18,000 bookings each day. Some variants of their smaller vehicles may now experience waiting periods due to this surge in demand. Interestingly, Maruti Suziki is catching up other global giants in innovation and upgrading in all aspects including the electronic control board etc.
