A 40.7 per cent dip in the sales of Maruti's bread and butter model M 800 virtually offset the gains from Alto, WagonR and Zen as the carmaker posted a marginal four per cent rise in domestic sales in May 2004.

The company sold 38,041 units in the review month over 36,512 units in the same month last year, a Maruti Udyog Ltd statement said on Tuesday.

The domestic cumulative (April-May) sales surged by 21 per cent at 74,969 units.

Maruti's exports also grew by 131 per cent at 6,171 units in May this year while the cumulative exports went up by 56 per cent at 9,081 units.

The company suffered a loss of six per cent in the sales of Omni van and multi-purpose vehicle Versa at 5,051 units while sales of compact cars -- Alto, WagonR and Zen -- surged by 64 per cent at 21,137 units in the last month.

Monthly sales of mid-size sedans Baleno and Esteem jumped by 37 per cent at 1,510 units.

Sales of Gypsy and sports utility vehicle Vitara went up by 22 per cent at 327 units.