See FY18 vol growth at 11-12%; Ciaz sales down due to higher tax: Maruti’ Bhargava

RC Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki in an interview to CNBC-TV18 shared the outlook for the company going forward and sales of its various products.

When asked if the volume growth would remain in 15 percent plus range, he said the rate of growth in second half may not match that of first half because the base is much higher. However, a volume growth of 11-12 percent is manageable, he added.

Talking about the Gujarat plant, he said the second shift is now ramping up production and will steadily increase. So, sometime in 2018, the second shift will be working to full capacity and post that the unit will see production of 2.5 lakh cars, said Bhargava.

At the moment, the Gujarat plant produces only Baleno model but gradually new Dezire will also be added, he said.

Export growth for the company has been steady, Bharagava says the target for this is year is similar to that of last year, which is 1,25,000 cars. Moreover, looking at the domestic demand for cars, there may not be significant change in export volumes.

Stating the reason for the drop in sales of Ciaz, Bhargava said the hybrid version is not selling because of the extra tax on hybrids.