Car sales in the country remained sluggish during June as high fuel rates and an overall sluggish economy continued to dampendemand. Major car manufacturers, including Maruti Suzuki, Toyota and Tata Motors, reported a decline in monthly sales, while Hyundai Motor India posted a marginal rise.
Honda Cars India and Ford India, however, posted good growth in sales in June, driven by newly launched models —the Honda Amaze and Ford EcoSport.
In June 2013, market leader Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) registered a 7.8 per cent decline in domestic sales at 77,002 units against to 83,531 units in June 2012. In the mini-car segment (M800, A-Star, Alto and WagonR), the company’s sales fell by 8.4 per cent to 31,314 units. It sold 20,996 units in the compact segment (Estilo, Swift and Ritz), a decline of 7.2 per cent. While sales of its DZiRE model fell by 8.7 per cent to 12,548 units, that of mid-sized sedan SX4 declined by 23 per cent to 314 units.
Tata Motors
Tata Motors said its total passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market stood at 11,804 units in June, down 31.54 per cent from 17,244 units in the same month last year.
On similar lines, Toyota Kirloskar Motor posted 19.45 per cent drop in domestic car sales at 13,805 units in the month under review, from 17,140 units in the same month last year.
Mahindra & Mahindra’s (M&M’s) domestic sales stood at 36,207 units against 38,951 units in the same month last year, down 7.04 per cent.
“ The depreciating rupee resulting in spiralling fuel costs coupled with high interest rates and the additional excise duty on SUVs has further dampened the industry without any substantial revenue to government,” M&M Chief Executive (Automotive Division) Pravin Shah said.
Hyundai Motor India’s domestic sales stood at 30,610 units during the month, marginally up from 30,450 units in June 2012.
Commenting on the sales, HMIL Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing Rakesh Srivastava, said, “In these challenging times of industry degrowth, Hyundai has grown in volumes and market share on the strength of a strong product portfolio .”
On the other hand, Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) posted over three-fold jump in domestic sales in June at 9,297 units as against 2,667 units in the same month last year.
"We are extremely delighted with the consumer response to Amaze which has surpassed all expectations and is further gaining momentum. We already have more than 18,000 happy Amaze customers and we hope to add many more going forward," HCIL Senior Vice President (Marketing & Sales) Jnaneswar Sen.
On similar lines, Ford India posted 14 per cent rise in domestic sales to 7,145 units against 6,267 units in the same month last year.
Volkswagen India said its car sales in June dipped marginally at 5,356 units against 5,371 units in the year-ago period.
Two-wheelers
In the two wheeler segment, Chennai-based TVS Motor Co reported 7.14 per cent decline in sales at 1,37,331 units from 1,47,893 units in June 2012.
