Ever since rolling out its Maruti 800, to fulfill middle-class customers' desire to own a car, Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) has made rapid strides in the domestic car market. Its major strengths lie in its expertise in small car technology and extensive range of products. The other strengths are its countrywide dealership network and integrated manufacturing facility. It goes without saying that the company's ability to price its products competitively has helped it immensely.
Despite a sharp increase in input prices, and interest rates in 2004-05, Maruti was able to improve its profit margins with highest annual sales recorded at 487,402 units for the same period. The net sales for the year increased by 20.1%. Further, even with the higher volume, the company topped the annual JD Power's industry quality awards for 2005, sixth year in a row. Its models, Alto, Swift, and Esteem, received top rating on the parameters such as quality, cost of ownership, and appearance. |
