The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday said it has crossed the 50 lakh cumulative sales milestone in rural markets of India.

With over 1,700 customised outlets in rural parts of the country, nearly 40 per cent of the total MSIL sales come from rural markets today, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) said in a statement.

The company’s total sales in the April-June period of this fiscal stood at 3,53,614 units. In fiscal 2020-21, it had sold a total of 14,57,861 units, down from 15,63,297 units sold in 2019-20.

Commenting on the feat, MSIL Senior Executive Director (Marketing & Sales) Shashank Srivastava said, “We are proud to announce that with the support from our customers and local dealer partners, we have achieved 50 lakh sales in rural India cumulatively.”

Stating that rural markets have a very special place in the company’s business, he said, “over the years, we have carefully studied the needs of this segment… We remain committed to deliver products and services that match the customer needs in rural India.”

While the aspirations of upcountry customers are very similar to those at metros, they demand more attention and care, he added.

“We adopted the philosophy of ‘Go Local’ with 12,500 specially trained dealership personnel called Resident Dealer Sales Executives (RDSE), who understand the local culture and traditions to fulfill the expectation of these customers,” Srivastava said.

The company was first to believe in the potential of upcountry markets. In 2008, MSIL strengthened its strategy with a focused and structured approach towards the rural hinterland, which was least affected by the global financial crisis then.

He said the company built on the network with the “aim of ‘Ghar Ghar Mein Maruti’ (Maruti in every household) to tap the immense potential in rural India” and had designed various local-level engagement initiatives to engage deeper with rural customers.

MSIL said it has also recently introduced its retail outlet for premium cars, NEXA in upcountry markets to align with the changing aspirations of the rural customers.

Besides the large rural sales network, the company said it has also set up more than 4,000 service touch points, which include 235 ‘Service-on-Wheels’ to provide after-sales support to the rural customers.