The last time we discussed the SWOT Analysis of Audi, which is the world’s one of the most luxurious cars. This time, we’ll take a closer look at the SWOT Analysis of Maruti Suzuki.
Maruti Suzuki is the market leader in India and has incredible brand equity. Maruti Suzuki is well-known for its cars and service. Maruti Suzuki is the largest automobile manufacturer in India.
Maruti Suzuki’s marketing efforts are another factor that has helped the company grow into the behemoth it is today. Marketing is evolving as the world moves online, and if you want to stay up to date, check out our Free MasterClass on Digital Marketing 101 taught by Karan Shah, the CEO and Founder of IIDE.
Do you want to know how Maruti Suzuki was able to achieve such success in the automobile industry? We will study the SWOT analysis of Maruti Suzuki and determine the answer in this blog. Let’s take a look at Maruti Suzuki, the company, its history, products, financial state, and competitors before we get started.
About Maruti Suzuki
Maruti Suzuki is an Indian automobile manufacturer based in New Delhi which was previously known as Maruti Udyog Limited and incorporated its journey in 1982, February 24. On 1982, October 2, Maruti signed a license agreement and a joint venture with The Japanese Company Suzuki. The company started their operations in 1983 by launching the Maruti 800 and entered into the foreign market by exporting 500 cars to Hungary.
Maruti Suzuki is regarded with ushering in the country’s vehicle revolution. In India, the company engages in the passenger vehicle manufacture and sales business. Maruti Suzuki has grown from a small beginning with the famous Maruti 800 automobile to a huge array of 16 car models with over 150 variants.
Maruti Suzuki’s model line includes anything from little automobiles like hatchbacks to sedans and crossovers. Facilitation of pre-owned automobile sales, fleet management, and car financing are among the other activities. The company has production facilities in Haryana’s Gurgaon and Manesar, as well as a cutting-edge R&D facility in Rohtak, Haryana. Currently, Maruti Suzuki holds 56.2 percent of the company’s stock. The stock of the company is traded on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
| Founder | Government of India |
|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1981 |
| Origin | New Delhi, India |
| No. of Employees | 20,000 |
| Company Type | Public |
| Market Cap | $32.23 Billion (2023) |
| Annual Revenue | $13.61 B (2022) |
| Net Income/ Profit | ₹4,229 crores (2020) |
What’s new with Maruti Suzuki?
Here’s what was buzzing around Maruti Suzuki recently:
- New Baleno: Maruti Suzuki has launched the new Baleno, which features a new design, updated interior, and more advanced features.
- New Brezza: Maruti Suzuki has also launched the new Brezza, which features a new design, updated interior, and more powerful engines.
- New Swift Hybrid: Maruti Suzuki has launched the new Swift Hybrid, which combines a petrol engine with an electric motor to improve fuel efficiency.
- New Wagon R Flex Fuel: Maruti Suzuki has launched the new Wagon R Flex Fuel, which can run on both petrol and ethanol.
- New Jimny: Maruti Suzuki has launched the new Jimny, which is a compact off-road SUV.
- New Fronx: Maruti Suzuki has launched the new Fronx, which is a subcompact SUV.
- New eVX: Maruti Suzuki is developing an all-electric SUV called the eVX, which is expected to launch in 2025.
- New Factory: Maruti Suzuki is building a new factory in Haryana, which is expected to start production in 2025.
- New R&D Center: Maruti Suzuki is building a new research and development center in Gurugram, which is expected to be completed in 2025.
- New Electric Vehicle Platform: Maruti Suzuki is developing a new electric vehicle platform, which is expected to be ready by 2025.
- New Battery Gigafactory: Maruti Suzuki is planning to build a battery gigafactory in India, in partnership with other companies.
Let’s now understand the target audience of Maruti Suzuki better with the help of a buyer persona.
Buyer Persona of Maruti Suzuki
A buyer persona generally refers to the detailed information of an ideal customer of a company. When it comes to Maruti Suzuki, people from India use it the most. This buyer persona will help you understand the attributes of a regular Maruti Suzuki user.
Buyer’s Persona
Name:
Rahul Patel
Place:
Mumbai, Maharashtra
Age:
29 years
Profession:
Financial Analyst
Motivation
- Affordable Mobility
- Fuel Efficiency
- Reliability
- Safety
Interest & Hobbies
- Automotive Enthusiast
- Travel and Road Trips
- Reading about Cars
- Photography
Pain Points
- Traffic Congestion
- Rising Fuel Prices
- Maintenance Costs
- Parking Challenges
Social Media Presence
SWOT Analysis of Maruti Suzuki
SWOT Analysis of Maruti Suzuki can show how a well-established company uses its opportunities to ensure its growth. It can show how the company takes advantage of its strengths to use the opportunities while working on its weaknesses. SWOT Analysis of Maruti Suzuki will also reveal its expansion plans.
To better understand the SWOT analysis of Maruti Suzuki, refer to the infographic below:
Now first let’s begin with the strengths of the company from the SWOT analysis of Maruti Suzuki.
Strengths of Maruti Suzuki
The strengths of a company are the unique qualities that provide it with an advantage in acquiring more market share, attracting more customers, and maximizing profitability. Maruti Suzuki’s strengths are as follows:
- Market Share: Maruti Suzuki has a large market share with a share value of 45 percent which is comparatively more if compared to its competitors and this is one of the biggest strengths of Maruti Suzuki.
- Number of Sales: Maruti Suzuki registered the highest number of domestic sales in the previous fiscal year, with 9,66,447 units. This has recently surpassed the national sales mark of 10 million.
- Brand Value: Maruti Suzuki has high brand recognition and a large consumer base. Also earned a good reputation for selling second-hand vehicles of good quality through its true value chain.
- Strong Advertising & Reliable Suppliers: Effective approaches of advertising, good product range, and largest dealers network to attract people. It has a strong base of reliable suppliers of raw material thus enabling the company to overcome any supply chain bottlenecks.
- Product Quality: Maruti Suzuki engine capacity is supreme which provides more mileage as compared to its competitors, their cars require less maintenance and service cost is the lowest in the market. These advantages give Maruti Suzuki a complete edge over its competitors in terms of capturing the market of the lower and middle class whose percentage is more as compared to the rich class.
- Cost Optimization: Maruti’s cost optimization strategies have benefitted the company in the long run, for example during Covid-19 the brand localized its imports and re-structured its way of functioning.
Weaknesses of Maruti Suzuki
Weaknesses are elements of a company or brand that can be strengthened. The following are Maruti Suzuki’s flaws:
- Weak Interior Quality: Maruti Suzuki’s interior quality is weak in comparison with the high-quality interior of Hyundai, Maruti Suzuki, Volkswagen etc. Also, the build quality of Maruti Suzuki cars is a little bit low compared to these competitors.
- Government Intervention: Government intervenes because of having a share in Maruti Suzuki as it’s owned by the government and a public company. Strategic decisions are dependent upon government approvals.
- Penetration Inability: Maruti Suzuki’s one of biggest inabilities is not being able to penetrate the world market. The company is only popular in India and some of the Asian regions other than this Maruti Suzuki’s presence in Europe and the North American market is not that fascinating.
- Weak Managerial & labour Relationship: The relationship between management and labour unions is not good. Employee strikes, worker’s wages strikes have declined the reputation of Maruti Suzuki in terms of being the best working place.
- Diversification in the Workforce: The workforce at Maruti Suzuki Motors is analyzed with mostly local workers, and low amounts of workers from other ethnical backgrounds. Lack of diversification makes it difficult for employees from different ethnical backgrounds to adapt at the workplace, leading to loss of talent.
Opportunities for Maruti Suzuki
Potential areas of attention for a corporation to enhance results, expand sales, and, ultimately, profit are known as opportunities. Maruti Suzuki’s opportunities are
- LPG Version of Cost-Effective Hatchbacks: Maruti Suzuki is popular in the taxi sector and most of the taxis are connected with LPG. A recently positive move by Maruti Suzuki is that it introduced its LPG version of Wagon R which is a smart move taken by the company.
- Collaborations: Maruti Suzuki can jointly work with big car manufacturers to bring innovations to the market by improving relations. Just like recently, Maruti Suzuki is working with Toyota on a project to launch small electric SUVs in the market.
- Technological Developments: Technology succeeds with numerous advantages among many departments. Operations can be automated to diminish costs. Technology enables better data to be obtained from customers and improves trading accomplishments.
- Immense Production Potential: Maruti Suzuki has immense potential in foreign markets and it is a rapidly growing market for automobiles. It can tap into European and other untouched markets where growth potential is even more.
- Transport Industry: The transportation industry has been thriving in recent years and has significant growth potential in the future. This has reduced transportation costs, which benefits Maruti Suzuki by lowering its overall costs.
Threats to Maruti Suzuki
Environmental variables that can damage a company’s growth are known as threats. Maruti Suzuki’s threats include the following:
- Fall in Market Share: Maruti Suzuki has experienced a great fall in its market share because of the higher increment in market share of other brands, such as Figo, Ford, and Volkswagen. Also, Maruti Suzuki registered a sales drop in January 2022.
- Intense Competition: China intends to join the Indian car market which can create immense competition. Also, Maruti Suzuki has other competitors from global automotive brands.
- Controversies: Maruti Suzuki is facing certain controversies such as its cars failing accident tests and safety benchmarks which is one of the most important aspects customers look into before purchasing any car.
- Costs and Expenses: Higher fuel costs including demonetization expenses and economic recession has caused decreasing purchases by customers.
Failed Campaigns of Maruti Suzuki
Maruti Suzuki more than often grabs attention with its unique marketing. But, there have been a few times when the campaign failed to connect with the audiences and gained backlash.
Here are a few examples of failed campaigns of Maruti Suzuki:
- The “Swift Dzire Tour S” campaign: In 2017, Maruti Suzuki launched a campaign to promote the Swift Dzire Tour S, which was a taxi variant of the Swift Dzire. The campaign featured a video of the Swift Dzire Tour S being driven through a city with a family on board. However, the campaign was met with a lot of criticism from consumers, who argued that the Swift Dzire Tour S was not a suitable car for families.
- The “Ertiga” campaign: In 2017, Maruti Suzuki launched a campaign to promote the Ertiga, which is a seven-seater MPV. The campaign featured a video of the Ertiga being driven through a city with a family of seven on board. However, the campaign was met with a lot of criticism from consumers, who argued that the Ertiga was not big enough to comfortably seat seven people.
- The “Ignis” campaign: In 2016, Maruti Suzuki launched a campaign to promote the Ignis, which is a compact SUV. The campaign featured a video of the Ignis being driven through a city with a group of young people on board. However, the campaign was met with a lot of criticism from consumers, who argued that the Ignis was too small and underpowered.
- The “Alto 800” campaign: In 2015, Maruti Suzuki launched a campaign to promote the Alto 800, which is an entry-level hatchback. The campaign featured a video of the Alto 800 being driven through a city with a family on board. However, the campaign was met with a lot of criticism from consumers, who argued that the Alto 800 was unsafe and that it did not offer good value for money.
- The “Wagon R” campaign: In 2014, Maruti Suzuki launched a campaign to promote the Wagon R, which is a tallboy hatchback. The campaign featured a video of the Wagon R being driven through a city with a family on board. However, the campaign was met with a lot of criticism from consumers, who argued that the Wagon R was boring and outdated.
Conclusion
As we wrap up our analysis of Maruti Suzuki’s impressive digital marketing strategy, it’s clear that staying up-to-date with the latest trends and techniques is key to success in the digital marketing world.
Whether you’re a marketing professional or just starting out, be sure to check out our free digital marketing masterclass to gain a solid foundation in the essentials of digital marketing.
Who knows, you might just develop the next big marketing strategy like Maruti Suzuki’s! Don’t forget to share your thoughts and comments on Maruti Suzuki’s strategy in the comments below.
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