Maruti 800 October sales dip 30.1 pc

New Delhi, Nov 1: Car market leader Maruti Udyog Ltd today reported a 30.1 per cent dip in the sales of its flagship model Maruti 800 during the month of October at 6,354 units as compared to 9,087 units in the corresponding period last year.

The company, 54.2 per cent owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp, also registered a 11.7 per cent drop in sales in the A3 segment.

In the segment, the combined figures of Baleno and Esteem models stood at 2,700 units as against 3,058 vehicles in October 2005.

However, the auto major sold 60,163 vehicles in the month, an increase of 16.7 per cent over last year October's figure of 51,543.

Of the 60,163 vehicles the company sold 55,894 vehicles in the domestic market and 4,269 units were exported.

The company's volume in the domestic A2 segment went up by 23.5 per cent and in the C segment grew by 21.6 per cent during the month compared to sales in October 2005.

The A2 segment, which consists of Alto, Wagon-R, Zen, Swift registered a 23.5 per cent growth at 38,940 units, which was at 31,531 during October 2005.

In September, the company had reported a total sales of 59,420 units for the month of September 2006, including exports of 2,814 units, as compared to 49,278 units during September 2005 - an increase of 20.58 per cent.

The sales of Maruti 800 had increased modestly by 3.5 per cent to 7,680 units as compared to 7,423 units for September 2005.

UNI