Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) on Friday introduced major organisational changes in its top echelons to counter the adverse impact on sales and market share on account of the Covid pandemic.
The company has lost market share from 51 per cent to 47.7 percent in the current quarter.
Maruti is also facing major competition in the SUV segment and is ceding ground to competitors such as Hyundai and Kia.
Sources said two joint managing directors have been appointed from Suzuki Motor Company to assist the present managing director Kenichi Ayukawa.
The company has appointed the two joint managing directors — H. Takeuchi for commercial and S. Tori for production and supply chain.
Sources said the appointments have been made for managerial efficiency in a large organisation like Maruti. However, they denied any cost-cutting measures prompted by a falling market share.
Meanwhile, Shashank Srivastava and Partho Banerjee have been elevated to the position of senior executive directors and Ram Suresh Akela, who was the national head, sales has been elevated to the post of executive director — marketing.
The new leadership changes are effective from the first quarter of 2021-22.
Company sources, however, denied any fall in market share saying “in fact the share has risen from 44 per cent in the first quarter of 2020-21 to 47 per cent in the corresponding period of 2021-22”.
However, he admitted that the mid-SUV segment is a cause for concern.
“We are watching the mid-SUV segment. In the entry SUV segment we are market leaders with the Vitara Brezza. But in the mid-SUV segment we are quite weak ... we are trying to push the S-Cross,” said the source.
In the people mover segment, Ertiga and Eeco seem to be doing well with a 98 per cent market share.
The company’s decision to exit the diesel powertrain is also affecting its SUV sales, said an industry expert.
“With Hyundai’s Creta and Venue and Kia’s Seltos and Sonet, buyers have a choice,” said the expert.
Each of the South Korean companies have shored up a market share of 23 per cent in 2021-22.
