Maruti's fleet sales in slow lane

Mayank Dhingra Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) is witnessing a shift in the industry dynamics, wherein the once-booming trend of shared mobility is now on the backburner, and people are again preferring to have their own vehicles.

The ride-hailing industry in India with its two aggregator majors — Ola and Uber — went through an upheaval during the pandemic that left most cab owners who were signed up on these app-based platforms, high and dry for the better part of the last two years, due to lack of sustainable business. Many eventually defaulted their vehicle EMIs, and with no source of stable income, were forced to look elsewhere for a living.

With an overall cut down of the fleet, operational challenges at these cab aggregators are now surfacing and it has been a common problem in recent months in key metros, including Delhi and Mumbai, to find a cab in time, and also face resistance from drivers who tend to cancel an online booking if the destination is not to their liking. To add fuel to fire, users have also been witnessing things like the ‘No AC’ campaign run by drivers to protest against the rising prices of CNG.

The Wagon R CNG, now available as the Tour H3 for fleet-only customers as well as the Tour S sedan, are the top choices of cabbies across prime cities for fleet deployment, given that these cars come with factory-equipped CNG, as well as the mandatory speed governor.