Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) will soon become the first Indian carmaker to cross the 10-lakh sales mark. The company has so far produced 9.31 lakh units and sold 9.23 lakh units in FY 2009-10. MSIL Chairman, Mr R C Bhargava, told mediapersons that the company was confident of crossing the 1-million mark in the second half of this month. Mr Osamu Suzuki, who heads Suzuki Motor, will be flying down to India for a special ceremony to mark the event later this month.

Other auto companies in the 1-million plus sales club include Toyota, GM, Volkswagen, Ford and Renault. When Maruti began operations in the early 80’s, the size of the passenger-car market in India was only 40,000 units a year. It has now grown to over 2 million (20 lakh) units a year, half of which is constituted by Maruti cars. In the coming years, it may become increasingly difficult for Maruti to retain its market share in India, with almost every major auto company making competitively-priced compact cars for the country. The latest entrants in India’s compact car race are the Chevrolet Beat and the Ford Figo, launched last week.