Maruti Suzuki passenger car sales declined 8.3% year on year in October to 58,515 units.
The company’s A1 segment sales of the M800 were down 26.1%, its C segment Omni and Versa volume fell 31.6% to 6,362, A2 (Alto, Wagon-R, Zen, Swift) sales were down 7.7% to 43,434 but the A3 segment contenders – SX4, Swift Dzire (sedan) and Esteem were up 29.6% to 5,412 units.
Fiscal year to date sales were, however, up though by just 1.9% to 406,570.
Maruti, which is readying a redesigned Alto and a Nissan variant for 2009 launch, boosted October exports 4% to 5,363. Fiscal year to date shipments rose 21.1% to 35,599.
Indian banks have recently raised rates to a six-year high and tightened lending criteria, forcing some potential buyers, in this market where a majority of new cars are bought with credit, to defer purchases.

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData