We expect to sell 1 lakh premium cars in 2-3 years: Kenichi Ayukawa

Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), which has launched the S-Cross crossover in India, expects to sell over 100,000 premium segment cars in the next two to three years, according to its managing director and chief executive Kenichi Ayukawa. In an interview with ET, Ayukawa said the Indian passenger vehicle market could grow by 5-6 per cent this year. Edited excerpts:

Is it the right time for MSIL to enter the premium segment, considering that there is hardly any pickup in demand?

I don’t believe there is much stock pileup. We have to control this ourselves. I have communicated this to our dealers. And we are focusing on retail sales, not wholesale. We have controlled our supply to dealers. Also, our dealers are enthusiastic about expanding volume and network. In terms of new network, I expect 300 dealerships will be joining in the future. They are also very much eager to join, but it takes time. I understand that at this moment the market is not so good. But fortunately our people are coping well and the results are good.

How do you see the overall passenger vehicle market evolving in India this year?

This year we expect overall growth to be in the range of 5 per cent to 6 per cent. This kind of growth is possible because carmakers are launching new products and creating excitement among customers.

As far as Maruti Suzuki is concerned, we have been achieving 10 per cent growth in the second half and expect similar kind of growth for the financial year also.

How much volume contribution are you expecting from the premium segment?

This is the first year and we have to focus on development of NEXA outlets, which will touch 150 by the end of this year.

What kind of sales contribution do you expect from the premium segment in the next 2-3 years?

We expect 1–2 lakh units, but that’s the future. At this moment, we have to develop this network.

What response have you got for S Cross?

We have got over 30,000 inquiries and 6,000 bookings in the past few days. As prices were not announced, we were not focusing much on the bookings, but from today we will turn more aggressive. We have already appointed 35 NEXA outlets and around 1,000 relationship managers. We will also add another 1,500 relationship managers by the end of the financial year to market the premium products.

In the past, MSIL tried to establish itself in the premium segment ( SX4, Kizashi), but did not get the desired result. How will it be different now?

Our mid-term goal is to achieve two million annual sales by 2020. Our initiatives in the premium segment have to be understood in that context. Nexa is one of them. Another very important one is launching new products and segments.