Car makers had a difficult month in February with leading companies, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors, reporting decline in their domestic monthly sales even as the market continues to reel under tough macro-economic conditions.
Country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India recorded domestic sales of 97,955 units in February, 2013 compared to 1,07,653 units in the year-ago period, registering a fall of 9.01 per cent.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) recorded a decline of 7.62 per cent in domestic sales at 34,002 units compared to 36,805 units in the year-ago period.
“The market was suppressed as there was drop in enquiries with lower rates of conversions to purchase. The increase in fuel prices negatively impacted the already low market sentiments,” HMIL Vice President (Sales and Marketing) Rakesh Srivastava said.
Tata Motors’ total passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market stood at 10,613 units in February, down 69.53 per cent from 34,832 units in the same month last year.
However, Mahindra & Mahindra’s total sales of passenger vehiclesstood at 23,421 units as against 20,573 units in February 2012, translating into a 13.84 per cent increase.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported 23.43 per cent decrease in its domestic car sales at 12,756 units in February 2013. It had sold 16,659 units in the corresponding month of last year.
Ford India’s domestic sales went down by 44.12 per cent to 4,490 units in February 2013 from 8,035 units in the same month last year.
Two-wheelers
The two-wheeler segment also saw sluggish sales with Hero MotoCorp’s and TVS Motor’s sales going down last month. —
