Maruti Baleno, Maruti Vitara Brezza drive MSIL towards 50% market share

Sales of small cars declined by 9.9 percent though.

Maruti-Suzuki, the country's largest car maker, witnessed its market share rising to over 48 percent in April 2016. Further, Maruti closed the previous fiscal year with a seven-year high market share of 46.8 percent.

Maruti's new car launches last year has been one of the driving factors for its growth. The Maruti S-Cross crossover, the Maruti Baleno premium hatchback and the Maruti Vitara Brezza compact SUV were introduced last financial year, and also saw the company enter the above segments. Growth from these new models was 17 percent more than the same period last year, Maruti's Executive Director, Marketing & Sales, R S Kalsi told a newspaper.

The Maruti S-Cross, which rivals the likes of the Hyundai Creta and Renault Duster, sells an average of around 2,500 units each month, while the Vitara Brezza compact SUV has received over 55,000 bookings till date. The Maruti Baleno though still has a waiting period running into about 4 months. The premium hatchback has garnered over 100,000 bookings.

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Models like the Ciaz, S-Cross, Baleno and Vitara Brezza account for 25.42 percent of Maruti's monthly sale. In comparison, sales of small cars like Maruti Alto and WagonR declined by 9.9 percent last month.