Amit Saraswat 
Following the recent announcement of Maruti Suzuki achieving 10 lakh automatic car sales in the Indian market, we delved deeper into the details and also reached out to the carmaker to get a better understanding. The release shared by Maruti Suzuki revealed that over 35% of its automatic car sales come from the South of India. We tried to break down the sales and understand why automatic car sales are so prominent in South India.
Out of 10 lakh automatic cars sold by Maruti Suzuki India Limited over the last decade, South India contributed to over 35% of the total sales. In the words of Shashank Srivastava, senior executive officer, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki India Limited, “it’s fairly substantial”. Cities like Chennai, Bangalore, Cochin, Trivandrum, Hyderabad and Vizag bring a considerable amount of automatic car sales to Maruti Suzuki, said Shashank.
Why such popularity in South India?
Upon being asked why South India is such a large market of Maruti Suzuki automatic cars, Shashank said, “The penetration of automatic cars is larger in the South. But you will also have to remember that it depends on the total volume segment-wise sales, where MUVs and premium hatchbacks contribute to a larger share of sales”
We have seen that customers who opt for MPV or premium hatchback body styles tend to prefer automatic transmission, which explains the natural spike in sales of automatic car sales. In addition, customer perception also plays a crucial role, which varies among different parts of the country. Given the higher amount of automatic car sales in the South, it is safe to assume that customers have understood the convenience and low-cost acquisition, among other benefits of automatic cars.
The success of automated manual transmission, which Maruti Suzuki likes to call Auto Gear Shift, can also be attributed to its lower cost of acquisition as well as maintenance as compared to the other types of automatic transmission options.
For instance, the 5-speed AGS carries a price premium of INR 50,000 – 55,000 over its manual transmission equivalent. On the other hand, the 6-speed torque converter automatic transmission in Maruti’s portfolio commands a premium of INR 1,50,000 – 1,60,000 over its manual equivalent. Hence, car buyers tend to prefer the AGS tech over the more complex and arguably more sophisticated torque converter units.
