Maruti Suzuki's pending bookings hit 2.5 lakh, CNG backlog 1.2 lakh

The backlog behind the showroom wait

Maruti Suzuki is sitting on about 2.5 lakh pending bookings across its range, Partho Banerjee, the company's senior executive officer for marketing and sales, told Autocar Professional on November 6. It is the clearest sign yet that this festive season's demand has outrun what Maruti's plants and parts suppliers can turn into delivered cars.

The Brezza is the sharpest example. Banerjee said the compact SUV "has got a waiting period of more than three months now," even after October volumes crossed 22,000 units. The Brezza was updated earlier this year with a wider range of powertrains, including turbo-petrol options, and that update has added to the queue rather than shortened it. Waiting periods differ by city, variant and dealer, so buyers should confirm the current figure at their own showroom before booking.

CNG models carry half the backlog

CNG cars account for nearly half of Maruti's 2.5 lakh pending orders, with about 1.2 lakh CNG bookings still unfulfilled, Autocar Professional reported on November 6, citing the company. Maruti can build around 85,000 to 86,000 CNG vehicles a month and sold close to 87,000 of them in October, nearly 40 percent of that month's domestic sales. CNG volumes are up about 38 percent since April, a shift Banerjee linked to buyers moving away from diesel.

The hold up is a shortage of specific parts that go into CNG kits, not a shortage of plant capacity. "CNG has supply constraints, but our supply chain team assured us that from January we will have improved supply," Banerjee said. Business Today, reporting on November 9, carried the same 1.2 lakh and 2.5 lakh figures and the same January 2027 timeline for buyers who booked a CNG Maruti this Diwali and are still waiting on delivery.

Baleno and festive deliveries add to the queue

New demand keeps adding to the pile even as the company works through it. Banerjee told Autocar Professional that the Baleno facelift, launched on September 5, has sold 50,000 units in its first two months, pushing fresh orders into a dealer network that is already stretched thin. Despite the backlog, Maruti's dealer inventory stood at just 12 days at the end of October, meaning stock is moving out of yards almost as fast as it arrives, with little buffer when any one model's demand spikes.

For a buyer walking into a Maruti showroom this month, the practical read is that a Brezza booked today is unlikely to arrive before Holi, and a CNG variant of most Maruti models booked now may not reach a driveway before the new year. Both figures come from the maker's own briefing to dealers and press, not from an independent survey, and actual waits will vary by city and dealer.

Sources