[airbender]

I had this thought for the last few months. They are firing all cylinders right now. Can they increase their market share further? Then comes this article from ET.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/56245770.cms

MS is any competitor's envy. They truly deserve that. But I think they will lose some market share in the coming years.

[a4anurag]

Here's a screenshot taken from the above link where they compare each manufacturer on their market share post the years and future launched lined up.

[shankar.balan]

They have read the Indian market perfectly.
And as long as they keep belting out hits like the Swift and Brezza etc, they will retain leadership.
All they need to do now is focus hard on service and spares availability.
Clearly they are the Kings, but they need to guard in this way, against getting de throned.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

All they need to do now is focus hard on service and spares availability.

Adding to the above, they need to focus on some improvement in quality section too.

Maruti Suzuki must take a leaf out of Hyundai's book. And how to provide better quality materials in the car. Overall feel of ownership + living in experience needs to be uplifted.

[invidious]

One must not merely look at market share in isolation; given that the market itself is growing quite rapidly - so both factors need to be taken into consideration. As more and more Indians enter into the middle class, the 4-wheeler is one of their first purchases to announce they have "arrived". In that way, the Indian dream is not so different from the American dream of the 1950s. I recently spoke to 2 such individuals who purchased the first cars in their families - one bought the Mahindra KUV100 and one bought the Tata Tiago. Of course that is not scientific - but increasingly car makers are turning to first time customers who don't have a brand baggage and if they are happy with the product, they will remain loyal customers as they move up the consumer chain.

Suzuki has done a commendable job but holding onto close to 50% market share is extremely difficult. Tata and Renault are both on the upswing and will quickly eat into Suzuki's market share. Hyundai has been a steady #2 - like Andy Murray was prior to 2016 - always in the top echelons but never a serious threat #1.

[avisidhu]

Less than a decade back, all the action was in the 4-6L OTR price bracket, and needless to say Maruti was the established king, specially thanks to the Swift. Now the volumes have shifted to the 7-10 OTR bracket, and guess what? Maruti quickly did some clever packaging and came up with the Ertiga, Ciaz and Brezza. One fresh product (Baleno) completed the portfolio, and now Maruti rules again, at the same time retaining its lead in it's core segment under 5L.

Pretty sure the action will move up the price segment with time, and equally sure that Maruti will be ready again. Their ability to retain existing customers is tremendous, who are able to get the upgrade they seek within the brand.

6-7 years back, I don't remember a single person who would argue that Maruti will be able to retain it's market share in the next 5 years (let alone increase). So let's wait and watch.

[srishiva]

I think there is still some opportunity for Maruti in the mid size SUV segment. Also in the higher than Ertiga MUV segment. Likewise, there are other segments maybe above Ciaz that they can enter into.

They are currently not good in terms of bigger engines (both diesel and petrol) which they need to take care. With these bigger engines, they can easily crack other segments and the fact that they dont have to worry a lot on their service reach, they can do it in a relatively easy way

[Maverick1977]

There are a lot of things which go in Maruti's favour. The biggest being the 1st mover advantage and the support that they got from the Indian Govt. Both played a large factor in entrenching their dominance in the market.
One more thing bigger than the above advantages is their distribution platform. I have seen Maruti showroom in the remotest of the places where some times even 2 wheelers dont have a presence. This has helped them penetrate not only the Urban landscape but make great in roads in the rural landscape also. The rural segment is where they are the (almost) unchallenged and undisputed KINGS!

Had come across an interesting study some time back which highlighted that Hyundai actually sells more cars per showroom as compared to Maruti. However when you have more than 2.5 times the no. of showrooms compared to the no. 2 player then there is nothing to complain.

One area where Maruti still finds challenging is the Premium segment. Price has always been their strong point - absolutely no harm in that but then the BIG $$$$ are always in the Premium segment where volumes are low but margins send leave a large smile on your face!

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Here's a screenshot taken from the above link where they compare each manufacturer on their market share post the years and future launched lined up.


Attachment 1590036

Guys, look at the screenshot again. Market share is increasing every single year since 2012. This is definitely NOT a sign of peaking. All Suzuki cars are "Jack of all trades, master of some"!

But I think I have mentioned this before - domination by one brand is not "healthy" for both market and customers.

[Epic]

Well in my personal opinion, Maruti has definitely reached it's peak in terms of market share. The problem with them is that they have always stuck to being an affordable / aam aadmi brand (no offense to any of the Maruti users here); not that there is anything wrong with that; but it seems that they cannot come out of it even if they try to. The Kizashi was the perfect example. Nobody wants to spent more than 10 lakhs on a Maruti; it's just not worth it. Maruti has also not improved it's quality standards to a large extent and in such a case, Hyundai has over taken them in this department. Look at the Maruti Suzuki Breeza vs the Hyundai Creta. They have not even come out with a significantly different model. All one sees are facelifts of their current models.

Besides, other brands have upped their games in terms of more modern looking models and improvement in after sales service. I believe that Maruti were enjoying in their comfort zone and either forgot or ignored the rest of the brands who were catching up to them.

[Rahul Rao]

I think Maruti will grow a bit more before it peaks. Currently the market they cater too is the entry level to mid level market. Where they had no competition, but car users aspirations are more, and when he thinks of a replacement car the next is often in a catagory higher. Secondly growth in Maruti also came along with the other entry level car maker Tata loosing share.
Now you have decent Tata cars in the entry level market along with this Renault has also entered that catagory.
Mid level cars from Maruti never caught on, with the improvement that home grown Tata and Mahindra are showing in their products growth in maruti sales will slow down and probably not keep up with the growth in the overall market.
Their market share is likely to peak somewhere below the 50% mark and then slip down gradually.

Rahul

[praveenasir]

I think Maruti Suzuki has an excellent opportunity to increase their market share further. All the cars they have launched recently have been a success and they have some exciting cars yet to be launched.
They have been suffering a lot because of production constraint and with the Gujarat plant operational in January, this market share is destined to increase further.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Maverick1977

The biggest being the 1st mover advantage and the support that they got from the Indian Govt. Both played a large factor in entrenching their dominance in the market. One more thing bigger than the above advantages is their distribution platform.

I'd also add service perception and confidence to list. This too has largely played into Maruti's hands. Its the same reason that saw the rise of Hyundai as a competitor, even though they were a decade late.
--
If I read the 2012-16 trend from Anurag's screenshot. Maruti seems to have eaten into Tata's pie during this period. Am not sure if we'd had better Tata products then (that we have now), we'd have seen a similar trend ?!
--
Regarding premium products: Any reason why Suzuki didn't want to introduce the Grand Vitara as a CKD in India? Being a SUV crazy country, it should've tasted reasonable success.

[jbpanda]

Originally Posted by Epic

Look at the Maruti Suzuki Breeza vs the Hyundai Creta.

Besides, other brands have upped their games in terms of more modern looking models and improvement in after sales service. I believe that Maruti were enjoying in their comfort zone and either forgot or ignored the rest of the brands who were catching up to them.

I disagree. Though Creta is a nice car but the sales figures of Brezza show that in fact the latter has overtaken the former big time, which would not have been possible without improvements. While it is true that they have stuck to the "Engine of the Nation" which is fair in terms of the success, reliability and performance of the engine over the years. The Baleno, Brezza and the upcoming Ignis appear to be changing with times not only in terms of models but also improving in terms of features. Maruti may have its own limitation in terms of quality of interiors as compared to Honda or Hyundai but they are improving each year. Maruti has its market share which is dominant as ever and will remain so for the years to come in view of their acceptance, reliability and ASS amongst others while other brands may strive to achieve such position. Such healthy competition would be good for the auto industry and will ensure that Maruti doesn't get into a comfort zone to the detriment of its customer base.

[damager21]

I think Maruti Suzuki is not firing all its cylinders yet and I firmly believe that 2017 will turn out to be an even more successful year for them where they will increase their market share further.

Following are some of the products which will help them catapult their market share closer to 55% mark.

Ignis - A new launch with capability to clock 10,000 units per month consistently


Swift Dzire - New Swift Dzire with upgraded interiors will continue to sell like hot cakes and can easily see a higher demand


Swift - Swift will continue to remain the king and one of the most loved hatchbacks. Can easily clock 20,000 units per month once launched along with AMT


Baleno RS - Performance segment saw quite a few cars being launched this year. Just shows that Indian consumers have appetite for such cars. Baleno RS is bound to succeed


S-Cross - S-Cross in UK recently got a facelift and same version is expected to be launched in India next year. Petrol addition with auto transmission will boost its sales


Ciaz - Post launch of facelifted Honda City in January 2017, Maruti will open its cards on Ciaz. There is a high possibility that Maruti will give Ciaz a minor facelift and more importantly offer it with 1.6-litre diesel and a 1.5-litre petrol engine. While Ciaz is currently selling a good 6,000 units per month, its engine is believed to be its Achilles heel.


Vitara Brezza - Huge backlogs has limited Maruti's ability to exploit Brezza further. Once its new plant gets operational in February 2017, the wait time is expected to reduce significantly. This will enable Maruti to launch petrol version of Brezza with AMT / CVT