Maruti Suzuki saw its consolidated revenue grow by 10% in the June quarter on the back of growing sales of pricier sports utility vehicles (SUVs), but higher input prices weighed on the company’s profitability, which barely grew compared to last year.
India’s largest automaker recorded 1% growth in profit to ₹3,792 crore and 10% growth in consolidated revenue to ₹40,493 crore during the first three months of FY26. Profitability was held back by a 200 basis points decline in operating profit margins owing to an increase in commodity inflation and employee costs.
Revenue grew even as its sales in the domestic market have struggled, with the first three months seeing Maruti’s total domestic sales fall 5% to 430,889. Growth was largely due sales of higher-priced SUVs such as Grand Vitara, Fronx, Jimny and Brezza.
The SUV revolution
Increasing sales of such cars has increased the average selling price (ASP) of Maruti’s portfolio to more than ₹7.27 lakh, up 7% from a year ago. “The mix of models with higher SUV sales has led to the increase in ASP,” Rahul Bharti, senior executive officer – corporate affairs at Maruti Suzuki, said during the earnings call on Thursday.
Maruti’s results mirror the trend in numbers posted by Hyundai Motor India Ltd and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, which also highlighted the importance of SUVs. While Hyundai saw an 8% decline in profits to ₹1,369 crore, Mahindra saw 24% growth in profit to ₹4,376 crore as its all-SUV portfolio continued to find traction.
Management also attributed the growth in the top and bottom lines to strong growth in exports. Exports grew 37% to 96,972 units during the quarter, and the company expects them increase even further with the launch of Grand eVitara in September. It expects to sell around 70,000 of them in FY26, and is co-ordinating its distribution networks to cater to 100 countries.
Hopes of a better second half
In the domestic market, management said it was looking forward to a better second half owing to the festive season and the expectations of a good monsoon. Bharti told investors and analysts that rural markets have been doing better than urban areas so far. “The inventory situation is under control. We have been managing the levels. We have 33 days of inventory on our network,” Bharti said.
In the coming quarters, the company will focus more on SUVs with two new launches slated for this year. The Grand eVitara is expected to hit the domestic market in September. Model launches in the future will increasingly tilt towards SUVs, Bharti said during the call with analysts.
Analysts said the growth in exports and the model mix tilting towards SUVs is helping Maruti manage its top and bottom line growth. “Festive season demand will be something to watch. We will need to see how demand evolves but Maruti looks well-placed to drive some sales from SUVs, although they have lost market share recently,” said Saji John, senior research analyst at Geojit Financial Services. “Inventory levels will be key and watchable as well as demand is soft.”
Rare earth troubles
However, China’s restrictions on rare earth magnets has clouded the outlook for all automakers, with Maruti Chairman RC Bhargava saying publicly that the company has stocks only until July. “It is a challenge… we do not see much impact yet as we are managing the situation. Consumption is higher EVs than in ICE vehicles but it is used in all,” Bharti said, responding to a question on the impact of rare-earth magnet restrictions.
Both Mahindra and Hyundai have also said that the situation is manageable for now, with no immediate impact on production, without specifying which alternative sources of magnets are being explored.
Maruti, which released its results after market hours on Thursday, has seen its share price surge over 11% in 2025 as against a 2% rise in the Nifty Auto index.
