Bengaluru: Country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) is looking to double the sales of its light commercial vehicle Super Carry to around 20,000 units in the current fiscal, a top company executive said.
The company, which sold around 10,000 units of the light commercial vehicle (LCV) in 2017-18, is bullish on account of sales network expansion for the LCV across the country.
"We have already crossed the 200-mark in terms of sales network for Super Carry. So now we are present across the country," MSI Senior Executive Director (Sales and Marketing) RS Kalsi told PTI.
"Last year we sold about 10,000 units and now we are expecting at least double the numbers this year," he added. MSI had sold just 900 units of Super Carry in 2016-17. When asked about sales network expansion for the LCV business during the current fiscal, Kalsi said it is an ongoing process. We will look out for opportunities and accordingly take a call.
Right now the numbers are not that big so we will have to see the viability of dealerships, he added. MSI had launched Super Carry in September 2016, a segment that is dominated by players like Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra. The car market leader has established a new commercial sales channel for the LCV business.
Besides the domestic market, the company has also started exporting Super Carry to countries like South Africa, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Nepal and Bangladesh. Equipped with a 793-cc diesel engine, Super Carry delivers a mileage of 22.07 km per litre. When asked about performance of Nexa retail channel, Kalsi said the vertical is now accounting for around 20 per cent of the company's total domestic sales.
"Last year we sold 3.2 lakh units from Nexa accounting for 20 per cent of the sales. Moving ahead, we expect it (sales) to remain at the same level (20 per cent)," Kalsi said.
The volume will increase but the ratio would remain the same -- 80:20. With 80 per cent coming from Arena network and rest 20 per cent from the Nexa channel, he added. MSI sells models like S-Cross, Baleno, Ignis and Ciaz from Nexa retail channel, while Dzire, Swift, Brezza and the rest are from the Arena network.
