Rising buyer inquiries hint at uptrend in auto sales: C V Raman & Shashank Srivastava

Maruti Suzuki's top management, C V Raman, senior executive director – engineering and Shashank Srivastava, executive director - marketing and sales, talk about the launch XL6 premium multi-purpose vehicle during a chat with Swati Khandelwal. Interestingly, Maruti has launched its product, XL6, at a time when the auto industry is going through a harsh time and the industry is seeing its worst performance in the last two decades.

How hopeful you are that XL6 will bring you back to a strong position and its numbers are going to be promising for Maruti Suzuki?

Shashank Srivastava: I would like to respond in two different ways and the first is that our industry is cyclical, and that's why we don't plan our new launches on the basis that the industry may see an uptrend or downtrend after three-four years as these plans are made 3-4 years back from now. Secondly, new launches indeed bring excitement in the market and we hope that this launch will bring that excitement. There is a reason for the ongoing downtrend. But the introduction of new models brings some positive sentiments. Thirdly, this segment, B-segment, has grown nicely in the last 4-5 years, and as of today has a market share of almost 30% in the industry.

As a six-seater vehicle, it has a direct competition with Innova Crysta. What is your expectation, in terms of volumes, with this product?

Srivastava: I will not say that we are directly competing with Crysta, but it will also attract several new customers, who want a bold and SUV-type vehicle but also need comfort and space of an MPV. Whenever we launch a new product, we check its acceptance among the customers as it is our philosophy.

Maruti has decided to not invest in small diesel engines and that's why just the petrol version of XL6 has been launched with a hybrid option. Let us know about the investment that has been made on this engine and will there will be a complete no to diesel engines for Maruti Suzuki even in case of big engines in time to come?

C V Raman: Today, customers have some confusion about future environmental regulations and other things. Even the regulators, in a way, are not propagating diesel and that's why I think that we should wait and watch. We have launched E15 engines in BS-IV version and we will look forward to the needs of the customers and will reconsider our decision if there is any need from the customer's end.

You are expecting that things will get better during the festive season and do you think that the most difficult phase has come to an end and there will be an uptick in the market?

Srivastava: As far as your first question is are we expecting an upturn in the market, then yes, we are expecting it because we have seen an increase in enquiry levels, especially in petrol vehicles. Our festival season begins with Onam from Kerala to Ganesh Chaturthi in West and then across India from September end. As far as expectations from the government are concerned, then Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and other automobile bodies have presented their thoughts and the government is considering it. We at Maruti Suzuki instead of speculating about their actions and when and to what level or there will be a GST cut or not, we are focusing especially on our efforts.

Zee Media Newsroom