Maruti Suzuki to increase ad spend by 5-10% this fiscal

Maruti Suzuki India, country’s largest carmaker is likely to hike its marketing and advertisement budget by 5-10% this fiscal. Last fiscal it had spent around Rs 357 crore on brand promotion activities but last fiscal saw sales plunging due to a variety of reasons, including prolonged labor unrest and high interest rates.

Lack of good portfolio of diesel models also contributed to the falling sales. From near 50% market share in the recent past, the company’s share crashed to 38% in the last fiscal.

Recently, the passenger car leader had forayed into Utility Vehicle segment by launching the industry’s first life utility vehicle ‘Ertiga’. The product portfolio of the market leader would be strengthened by Ertiga and it also creates an all new life utility segment at an attractive price point.