Maruti Suzuki India shares experienced a notable decline on Wednesday, January 7, falling 3.7% to ₹16,654 and ending a six-day winning streak. The drop comes despite the automaker reporting strong December sales figures that exceeded market expectations.

December Sales Performance Beats Estimates

The company delivered robust sales performance in December, with total sales reaching 2.17 lakh units compared to street estimates of 2.12 lakh units. This represented a significant 22.2% year-on-year growth from the previous year's 1.78 lakh units.

Domestic passenger vehicle sales showed particularly strong momentum, increasing 37.5% to 1.78 lakh units from 1.30 lakh units in the year-ago period. The Alto and S-Presso models demonstrated exceptional performance with sales surging 92% to 14,225 units from 7,418 units in the previous year.

HSBC Maintains Buy Rating with Margin Warning

On Tuesday, brokerage firm HSBC maintained its buy rating on Maruti Suzuki with a revised price target of ₹18,500 per share. The analyst noted that the automaker's market share has normalised back to 40%, while the overall demand outlook remains buoyant.

However, HSBC emphasised that third and fourth quarter margins are critical for the stock's performance. The brokerage specifically warned that Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) margins below the 10% mark could disappoint the market. Additionally, HSBC identified commodities as posing a near-term risk for the stock.

Analyst Coverage and Stock Performance

The stock maintains strong analyst support across the investment community. Of the 49 analysts covering Maruti Suzuki, 38 have assigned buy ratings, seven maintain hold ratings, and four have sell ratings.

Despite Wednesday's decline, the stock has delivered impressive returns over the past month, rising 43%. The shares hit the day's low during trading, reflecting investor concerns about margin sustainability despite strong sales momentum.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited has delivered strong production performance in December 2025, with total manufacturing output reaching 211,939 units, marking a significant 34.4% increase from 157,654 units produced in December 2024. The automaker's robust production figures reflect strong operational momentum across multiple vehicle segments.

Passenger Vehicle Segment Performance

The passenger vehicle segment demonstrated exceptional growth, with total production reaching 208,591 units in December 2025 compared to 155,553 units in the corresponding month of 2024. This represents a substantial 34.1% year-on-year increase, highlighting the company's strong market positioning.

Category-wise Production Analysis

The compact car segment emerged as the largest contributor to production volumes, manufacturing 89,275 units in December 2025 compared to 66,437 units in December 2024, reflecting a 34.4% increase. This segment includes popular models such as Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift, WagonR, and OEM models.

The mini car segment, comprising Alto and S-Presso models, showed remarkable growth of 73.1%, with production increasing to 19,187 units from 11,087 units in the previous year. Combined mini and compact sub-segments produced 108,462 units, up from 77,524 units in December 2024.

Utility Vehicles Drive Growth

The utility vehicles segment demonstrated strong performance with 87,451 units produced in December 2025, representing a 36.2% increase from 64,212 units in December 2024. This segment includes models such as Brezza, Ertiga, e Vitara, Fronx, Jimny, XL6, Victoris, and OEM models.

Commercial Vehicle Segment

The light commercial vehicles segment, represented by the Super Carry model, produced 3,348 units in December 2025 compared to 2,101 units in December 2024, marking a significant 59.4% growth. The vans segment, featuring the Eeco model, remained relatively stable with 12,678 units produced compared to 12,788 units in the previous year.

The mid-size passenger car segment, which includes the Ciaz model, showed no production in December 2025, while it had produced 1,029 units in December 2024. The December 2025 production figures demonstrate Maruti Suzuki's strong manufacturing capabilities and market demand across its diverse product portfolio.