Government should bring down taxes, ease regulations for small cars: Maruti Suzuki Chairman

RC Bhargava, Chairman, MSIL
| Photo Credit:
KSL

Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) on Friday said the government should bring down taxes and ease regulations for entry-level cars so that more than 30-crore two-wheeler owners can upgrade to cars.

Like Kei cars (small car) in Japan, the Centre should bring down the taxes and regulations to make such vehicles affordable, RC Bhargava, Chairman, MSIL told reporters during a virtual call.

“Kei cars have a different set of regulations compared to other cars, and the taxes on them are much lower. They are cheaper and affordable and have made it possible for people in Japan to switch from motorcycles to four-wheelers. We need to do something similar here,” he said.

Asked if small electric vehicles (EVs) can be a solution, he said that can be possible if any manufacturer can bring down the cost of an EV by half or even lesser to around ₹5 lakh. Not just an EV, but even a petrol car can come at an affordable cost of around ₹5 lakh and solve the issue, Bhargava added.

MSIL’s first EV in Sept

On the company’s first EV, e Vitara, Bhargava said it will be launched before September-end, and MSIL plans to sell around 70,000 units this year, of which maximum will be exported.

Meanwhile, the company reported a consolidated net profit of ₹3,911 crore in the fourth quarter (Q4) ended March 31, declining by one per cent year-on-year (y-o-y), on account of higher expenses. It had clocked a net profit of ₹3,952 crore in the year-ago period. Total revenue, however, increased to ₹40,920 crore in Q4FY25 as compared with ₹38,471 crore in the year-ago period.

MSIL said its total expenses during the quarter in review rose to ₹37,585 crore as against ₹34,624 crore in Q4 FY24 – up 8.5 per cent y-o-y.

Domestic sales

During the quarter in review, domestic sales grew by 3 per cent while exports were up 8 per cent y-o-y, resulting in an overall growth of 3.5 per cent, it said.

Domestic sales stood at 5,19,546 units and exports at 85,089 units in Q4, stated the company.

For the full financial year, the company reported a consolidated net profit of ₹14,500 crore, up 7.5 per cent, as compared with ₹13,488 crore in FY2023-24.

Revenue also rose by around 8 per cent to ₹1,52,913 crore in FY25 on a consolidated basis against ₹1,41,858 crore in FY24.

MSIL sold a total of 22,34,266 vehicles during the year, with 19,01,681 units sold in the domestic market and 3,32,585 units in the export market.

“The domestic market growth was quite muted. For the company, a modest domestic sales growth of 2.7 per cent was compensated by a healthy 17.5 per cent export growth leading to an aggregate growth of 4.6 per cent for the year,” MSIL added.

Shares of MSIL closed at ₹11,685.90 apiece on the BSE on Friday, down ₹1.81 per cent from the previous close.

Published on April 25, 2025