India was the fastest-growing market for Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) in the last financial year and, with a flurry of releases in the rapidly expanding sports utility vehicle (SUV) sector, the Japanese carmaker remains optimistic about growth prospects here despite global uncertainties. Suzuki – which aims to increase global volumes by 6.2 per cent or 186,000 passenger vehicles in the current fiscal year – expects its subsidiary Maruti Suzuki to outperform competitors in the local market this fiscal year. The market growth for Indian automobiles is expected to be +5-7 per cent year on year, and our company's Indian automobile sales are expected to be higher, SMC said in a presentation to investors. The company's passenger vehicle sales in India rose by 20.5 per cent to 1.65 million units in the fiscal year ended on March 31, ahead of the domestic market in Japan where volumes increased by 11.7 per cent in the same period. With this, the proportion of Maruti Suzuki in parent Suzuki Motor Corporation's global sales increased to 54.8 per cent, from 50.4 per cent in FY22. The subsidiary's share in the total global production of automobiles for SMC was even higher at about 60 per cent, up from 58.8 per cent the previous year. Contribution to net sales, meanwhile, increased by over 600 basis points to 40.8 per cent in the period under consideration. To be sure, constraints in the availability of semiconductors and a lack of products in the SUV segment earlier in the year did impact Maruti Suzuki's share in the local market. However, SMC stated, We will try to regain our market share by introducing SUVs. Overall, Maruti Suzuki held a share of about 41 per cent in the Indian passenger vehicle market at the end of the last fiscal year. The company's share in the SUV segment, though, has been rising with the introduction of new models. Maruti Suzuki's share in the category increased sixfold and stood at 17.4 per cent in March 2023, compared to 3.9 per cent in July 2022, prior to the introduction of the new Brezza and Grand Vitara. Bookings remain strong for the Fronx and the soon-to-be-launched Jimny, SMC said. Given the potential in the market here, Maruti Suzuki is considering investing about Rs 450 billion to double production capacity to 4 million units by the end of the decade to meet consumer demand in the local market and increase exports from the country, a news publication reported last week. Maruti Suzuki is aiming to regain lost market share over the next few years with a range of new releases in the fast-growing SUV and electric car segments. In a recent interaction, Maruti Suzuki chairman R C Bhargava said, Our intention is to regain our market share as closely as possible to the 50 per cent we have had in the past. Also Read JSW Infra announced expansion plans at NMPTDLF plans to launch projects worth Rs 200 bn in current fiscal