Choice of petrol over diesel dogs auto sector

Maruti Suzuki sales last month rose 16 per cent from the year-ago period

May 03, 2016 01:08 am | Updated 03:01 am IST - NEW DELHI:

The new financial year began on a positive note for the auto industry with car makers Maruti, Hyundai and Mahindra & Mahindra posting double-digit sales growth in April. However, issues such as low rural demand and a shift in consumer sentiment from diesel- to petrol-run vehicles continued to be a challenge, senior officials in the industry said.

The country’s largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki sold 1.17 lakh units in the domestic market last month, rose 16 per cent from 1.11 lakh units in the year-ago period.

Mini segment decline

The sales of mini segment cars declined 10 per cent to 31,906 units, while those of compact segment rose eight per cent to 45,700 units. As per the figures given by the company, sales of Dzire Tour rose by 74 per cent to 3,173 units and those of Ciaz grew 22 per cent to 5,702 units.

The Utility Vehicle segment (Gypsy, Ertiga, S-Cross, Vitara Brezza) saw a growth of whopping 260 per cent at 16,044 units, while sales of Omni and Eeco grew 20 per cent to 14,520 units.

Hyundai Motor India reported a growth of 10 per cent in domestic sales at 42,351 units. The company’s Sr. Vice President (Sales and Marketing) Rakesh Srivastava said Hyundai continued its growth momentum, amid industry seeing challenges on rural sales and diesel vehicle sales.

Big challenge

Honda Cars India, on the other hand, reported a decline of 17 per cent in monthly sales mainly due to the impact of the ban of diesel cars on consumer sentiment. The car-maker sold 10,486 units in April 2016 against 12,636 units in the same month last year.

The company said it sold 198 units of Brio, 869 units of Jazz, 2,639 units of Amaze, 5,793 units of City, 374 units of Mobilio, 567 units of BR-V and 46 units of CR-V. Jnaneswar Sen, Senior Vice President (Marketing & Sales) at Honda Cars said.

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