Maruti Suzuki said sales in its mini segment fell 42.57%

India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday reported a 26.73 per cent drop in total domestic sales last month. That marked the eleventh straight month of falling sales for the auto maker. In a regulatory filing, Maruti Suzuki said its sold a total of 1,12,500 vehicles in the domestic market in September, as against 1,53,550 in the corresponding period a year ago. Its total passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market fell 27.10 per cent to 1,10,454 units, Maruti Suzuki said.

Maruti Suzuki shares rose around 2 per cent in intraday trade. On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Maruti Suzuki shares rose as much as 1.98 per cent to Rs 6,850.00 apiece on the BSE. On the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the shares climbed 2.00 per cent to Rs 6,850.00 apiece at the day's strongest level.

Sales in its mini segment - including the Alto and S-Presso models - fell 42.57 per cent to 20,085 cars. ‬

In the compact segment, which includes the Celerio, Ignis, Swift and New Wagon R models, sales dropped 22.74 per cent to 57,179 cars, Maruti Suzuki said.

Maruti Suzuki said its total exports declined 17.76 per cent to 7,188 units.

At 11:21 am, Maruti Suzuki shares traded 1.59 per cent higher at Rs 6,824.20 apiece on the BSE, outperforming the benchmark Sensex index which was up 0.34 per cent.

Last month, Maruti Suzuki lowered prices of some cars, becoming one of the first major companies to respond to the government's move to cut corporate taxes in a bid to revive economic growth.

On September 20, the government slashed corporate taxes in a surprise $20.5-billion break aimed at reviving private investment, seeking to lift growth from a six-year low that has sapped jobs. The effective corporate tax rate was reduced to around 25 per cent from 30 per cent to bring it on par with Asian peers.