Maruti Suzuki to launch A-Star in October, ramp up R&D capabilities despite dip in sales

The company said it sold 59,908 units in August compared to 65,968 units in the year-ago period, a fall of nearly 9.2 percent in sales - reflecting the single-largest decline in the past 2 and ½ years. A company official said MSIL's lineup of small cars like Wagon-R, Sen and the Alto saw their sales dip in August, though the Swift and Swift Dzire provided some comfort by finding many takers.

However, the company, which is 54.2 percent owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp., said the figures are not upsetting as sales would pick up in October when the festive season begins. "The festive season has always been a good one for the industry as sales tend to go up and we expect the same to happen this year as well," said Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) chairman R.C. Bhargava.

Despite the ongoing market slump, the company said it would launch the much-awaited A-Star on which it is banking to reverse its fortunes.

"Worldwide there seems to be no respite from increasing fuel prices. In addition, the commodity prices have also shot up manifold," Bhargava said.

However, it would not take the industry too long to bounce back, Bhargava said. "It won't take the industry long to recover and the market to stabilize. Certain external factors like rise in crude oil prices, the sub-prime crisis and inflationary pressure has hurt the auto industry just like any other industry and if the oil price stabilizes the entire affect will mitigate," he said.