Maruti Udyog Ltd on Friday said its sales grew by 23.2 per cent in December 2003 to 37,091 vehicles due to high domestic demand and exports.

The sales during April-December 2003 surged 30.3 per cent to 328,019 units against 251,797 units sold a year ago, according to a release issued by the company in New Delhi.

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During December, the company's domestic vehicle sales went up 22.3 per cent to 33,343 units, while exports jumped 31.7 per cent to 3,748 units.

Domestic sales of Maruti's bread-and-butter model M800 rose by 12.1 per cent in December to 13,641 units and during April-December 2003, it increased by 28.4 per cent to 123,202 units.

Sales of Omni van and multi-purpose-vehicle Versa increased by 18.4 per cent to 4,323 units. During the first nine months of this fiscal, sales in this segment rose by 16 per cent to 42,672 units.

In the competitive premium small car or B segment, Alto, Wagon-R and Zen clocked a 34.6 per cent rise at 13,918 units during the review month and 30.8 per cent rise in April-December 2003 to 115,011 units.

Sales of the mid-size cars Esteem and Baleno also grew by 42.4 per cent to 1,333 units. Their sales stood higher by 23 per cent during April-December 2003 at 9,977 units.

However, utility-vehicles Gypsy and Vitara suffered a 23 per cent decline in December to 128 units. During April-December, their sales stood at 13.3 per cent more at 2,117 units.