The month of September brought in some festive cheer for the automakers as major car makers, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Honda, reported good growth in domestic sales with first-time buyers entering the car market. A series of new launches by automobile giants during the month also pushed sales.
Market leader Maruti Suzuki registered 9.8 per cent jump in sales at 99,290 units during the month against 90,399 units in the year-ago period, driven by compact cars segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Celerio, Ritz and Dzire, which grew 18.1 per cent to 43,304 units.
On the back of a strong demand for its new Elite i 20, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) registered a growth of 14.5 per cent. It sold 35,041 units compared to 30,601 units in September, 2013. HMIL Senior Vice-President (Sales and Marketing) Rakesh Srivastava said, “In this festive season, we are seeing a significant increase in first-time buyers and exchange buyers, which is very encouraging as it will accelerate the positive momentum already being experienced in the last few months.”
Likewise, Honda Cars India Ltd. (HCIL) reported 45 per cent increase in domestic sales at 15,015 units. “We continue to perform strongly with strong demand for all our models during this festival period,” HCIL Senior Vice-President (Marketing and Sales) Jnaneswar Sen said.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd (TKML) said its sales in the domestic market stood at 12,552 units during the month, up 4.46 per cent as compared to 12,015 units in the same month last year. Its Senior Vice-President (Sales and Marketing) N. Raja said,
“We have registered growth this month. The industry is beginning to gradually turnaround. Positive market sentiment combined with the festive season is expected to boost sales in the coming months as well.”
Homegrown auto major Mahindra & Mahindra’s domestic sales (vehicles of all categories) grew by 4.5 per cent to 42,408 units. M&M Chief Executive (Automotive Division and International Operations) (AFS) Pravin Shah said, “We expect the ensuing festive season to bring in some much needed cheer with a slew of new launches from manufacturers.”
For Tata Motors, sales of passenger vehicles in the domestic market stood at 11,931 units, down 7 per cent from 12,839 units in September 2013. GM India’s sales declined by 37.38 per cent to 4,413 units, while Ford India saw 36.22 per cent drop at 6,786 units.
For GM India, the numbers include 143 units of exports in September, marking the company’s maiden vehicle shipment to Chile.
Two-wheeler segment In the two-wheeler segment, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) reported 33.32 per cent growth in domestic sales at 4.39 lakh units during the said month.
The Chennai-based TVS Motor Company said its domestic sales grew by 29 per cent at 2.17 lakh units.