New Delhi, April 28 -- India's largest carmaker has a problem. Maruti Suzuki India Limited, the listed India arm of parent Suzuki Motor Corporation, has for several years been bigger than its Japanese parent. But it has found it increasingly difficult to defend its once dominant share of the market in the face of rising competition and changing consumer preferences.

India's automobile boom is distinctly running out of gas. After clocking a couple of decades of high growth, passenger vehicle sales have started slowing sharply. In FY25, retail sales grew by around 2.5%. Maruti was slightly ahead of the market, but not by much - domestic sales grew by 2.7%, while profits in the March quarter grew just 1%.

Big problems in small packages

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