Maruti Suzuki, India's largest passenger car manufacturer, on Saturday announced that it had sold 108,000 units in July, 88.2 per cent more than June 2020, in a clear indication that people were rushing to buy new cars as the coronavirus-induced lockdown eased, and opting for private transport to maintain social distancing.

Even on a year-on-year basis, Maruti's sales during the month were up 1.8 per cent over July 2019.

The automaker sold 1,307 units to other OEM (Read Toyota Kirloskar Motor), down 27.2 per cent from 1,796 units sold in the same month a year ago. The figures indicate an improvement in market conditions for the company marred by the coronavirus-induced lockdown.

Sales of mini cars Alto and WagonR stood at 17,258 units, compared with 11,577 units in the same month last year, up 49.1 per cent. Sales for the compact car segment -- models like Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire -- however, declined by 10.4 per cent to 51,529 units, against 57,512 cars in July last year.

Mid-sized sedan Ciaz sales declined to 1,303 units as compared to 2,397 units in July last year. However, sales of utility vehicles, including Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga, increased 26.3 per cent to 19,177 units as compared to 15,178 in the year-ago month, MSI said.

According to reports, the total sales, combining both domestic and exports, in July 2020 was 108,064 units, down 1.1 per cent from 109,264 units sold in the same month in 2019. The automaker exported 6,757 units in July 2020, down 27 per cent from 9,258 units recorded a year ago.

Earlier, Maruti Suzuki India reported a quarterly loss for the first time since its listing in 2003, as the coronavirus lockdown and supply chain disruptions sapped demand for the country's biggest automaker.

The pandemic has taken a heavy toll on automakers globally as people chose to stay indoors and worsened problems for Indian carmakers, which were already seeing inventory pile up because of weak demand. Maruti's shares fell as much as 2.5 per cent as it reported a net loss of Rs 249 crore for the three months ended June 30, compared with a profit of Rs 1,436 crore a year ago and analysts' average loss forecast of Rs 296 crore, according to Refinitiv data.

The company posted a pre-tax loss of Rs 370 crore, as compared with a profit of Rs 1,853 crore in the year-ago quarter.