Subhechcha Ganguly 
“Loss of market share is good for the company because it jolts us from our comfort zone,” said Maruti Suzuki chairman RC Bhargava on Saturday, despite the company’s battles with escalating competition, a faster-than-expected shift to electric mobility, and rapidly changing regulatory norms.
Bhargava said, “If you have been Number 1 for a long time (then) the biggest danger for you is complacency. This is especially true if you have been Number 1 for more than three decades with an average share of more than 40%. If you start to believe that you don’t need to do anything, you won’t be number one for very long. We are aware of that. We try to understand that sporadic events, like losing market share, are sort of beneficial because they keep us alert.Building on consumer demand for fashionable and urban sports utility vehicles (SUVs), a segment where the market leader’s presence is not the strongest, domestic competitors like Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) have been eroding Maruti Suzuki’s market share in recent quarters.
Data from the Society of India Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) show that Maruti Suzuki’s market share decreased from 43% in FY22 to 40.54% in Q1 FY23. From 12% in FY22, Tata Motors’ market share increased to 14.5% in Q1 FY23. M&M’s market share increased from 7% in FY22 to 8.38% in Q1 FY23. By the end of June, sales of utility vehicles (including SUVs) in India for the first time ever exceeded 50%, driven primarily by Tata Motors. Maruti Suzuki didn’t have a second SUV option besides the Brezza until the middle of July of this year, when it unveiled the Grand Vitara, which will go on sale starting in September.
By Subhechcha Ganguly
