New Delhi, March 2 (IANS) India’s largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki Tuesday reported a 22 percent rise in sales in February to 96,650 vehicles — its best performance till date.
“This is the highest ever total monthly sales in the company’s history (previous highest 95,649 units in January 2010),” said a company statement.

The company’s domestic sales during February grew 20 percent to touch 84,765 units while exports rose 38.8 percent to 11,885 units.

Maruti’s sales are expected to dip at least slightly going forward after the company’s decision to recall about 100,000 A-Star cars from the Indian market to replace a faulty fuel pump.

During February, sales in the compact car (A2) segment comprising Alto, Wagon-R, Zen, Swift, Ritz and A-Star grew 20 percent at 60,380 units over February 2009.

Sale of models in its mid-sized (A3) segment comprising SX4 and D’Zire rose 27.5 percent to 10,254 cars in February this year.

Car makers in general are expecting a slowdown in demand in March and April owing to a recent hike in vehicle prices. Most companies announced an across the board price hike after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee partially restored excise rates to the pre-stimulus levels.

Also, a hike in transport fuel prices could put a dent on the sales figures.