The Indian auto industry is growing and newcomers like Ford Figo and Chevrolet Beat are challenging Maruti Suzuki’s existing product portfolio. However, it still maintains a strong position in the Indian market and is keeping quiet. Recently, the automaker introduced the new fuel-efficient WagonR with the K-series engine. As for the April 2010 sales, Maruti Suzuki India Limited showed a jump of 29.70 per cent with 93,058 units with compared to April 2009, when it sold 71,748 units. Exports rose 89 percent to 13,024 units from 6,891 units in April last year.

India’s largest automaker sees great potential for its new cars. Suzuki Motor Corp attaches great importance to India and the company’s R&D unit has been involved in the development of cars made for India from the very beginning. The Alto has been one of their best-selling cars since its debut on Indian roads.

In addition to producing new cars, Maruti Suzuki is also expanding its dealer network in India in a bid to keep its share at around 50 percent. The company was founded by Suzuki and the Indian government in 1982. Now, it dominates the small car market with models that are highly efficient in terms of mileage and performance. The automaker has also moved into the premium car market with its SX4 sedan and Grand Vitara SUV.

Maruti Suzuki has waiting lists of one to three months for its Swift, Swift DZire and Eeco models. It had recently announced plans to increase capacity to meet the growing demand for its new cars. Now the automaker plans to upgrade capacity for the second time at its Gurgaon and Manesar facilities in India.

If the new car business works great for Maruti Suzuki, their used car business works even better. TrueValue, the company’s used car business, allows people to buy and sell used cars. The used car business was started in 2001 and the company has sold more than 1 Lakh of used cars. 90 percent of car salesmen owned Maruti cars. TrueValue’s business in India has been growing more than 20 percent year on year.

The used car business has been helping Maruti retain its old customers. While a significant part of the used car market in India is unorganized, Maruti TrueValue happens to be the most organized player in the market. The automaker has at least 6,000 used cars in stock at any given time. The company has more than 400 dealers and outlets spread across India and Maruti has ensured that more than 300 of these outlets have TrueValue capabilities. This strong network offers used car sourcing, certification and sales. As of now, Maruti is looking to cover all its dealerships for the used car business and employ trained personnel.