Maruti shares zoom 45% YTD; auto major says it sees best-ever festive season with over 4 lakh bookings

Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), India's largest carmaker, on Tuesday said it has received over four lakh bookings and retailed a record 2.5 lakh units in the last one month, making it the best-ever festive season for the company, thanks to a strong demand for entry-level cars.

The share of the company's entry-level cars in the overall sales has also gone up in the last one month, aided by price cuts owing to GST rate rationalisation with effect from September 22.

"We have received over 4 lakh bookings in the last four weeks, meaning 1 lakh bookings each week, which is the all-time highest for us," Maruti Suzuki India Senior Executive Officer (Marketing and Sales) Partho Banerjee told PTI in an interaction.

The company has sold 2.5 lakh units in the period under review, Banerjee added.

Banerjee noted that the company has received over 80,000 bookings for its entry-level cars like Alto, Celerio, WagonR, and S-Presso in the last one month, indicating a revival of the segment, which witnessed contraction over the last few years.

"Before GST 2.0 kicked in, our small cars used to account for 16.7% of the overall sales. Post GST rationalisation and price cuts, it has now risen to 21.5%," Banerjee stated.

The official noted that traction for small cars has led to more first-time car buyers visiting showrooms, indicating a shift in consumer behaviour.

"It shows that more people are upgrading from two-wheelers to cars, indicating a shift in buying patterns," Banerjee said.

Banerjee further said the company has enhanced production in order to cater to increased demand from dealers.

With effect from September 22, the company has passed on the full benefit of the GST rate reduction on automobiles to customers, in line with the revised GST regulations.

The company reduced prices of the entry-level model S-Presso by up to ₹1,29,600; Alto K10 by up to ₹1,07,600; Celerio by up to ₹94,100; Wagon-R by up to ₹79,600; and Ignis by up to ₹71,300.

The government has moved to two-tier GST slabs of 5% and 18%, effective from September 22, the first day of Navaratri.

This has led to the petrol, LPG, and CNG vehicles of less than 1,200 cc and not more than 4,000 mm in length and diesel vehicles of up to 1,500 cc and 4,000 mm in length moving to the 18 per cent slab from the current 28 per cent.

Motorcycles up to 350 cc are now taxed at a lower GST of 18% against 28% earlier.

All automobiles above 1,200 cc and longer than 4,000 mm, as well as motorcycles above 350 cc and racing cars, are being charged with a 40% levy.

Small hybrid cars have also benefited, while EVs continue to be charged at 5%.

Maruti Suzuki India share price

At a time when equity benchmark indices have been trading in a range for a long time, and a decisive recovery and rally look distant, shares of the auto major have given solid returns to its investors.

Data show that the stock has jumped over 45% so far in 2025 (YTD), 37.5% over the past six months, and nearly 7% in the past 30 days (as of Tuesday, October 14, 2025, closing).