While leading carmaker Maruti Suzuki's sales in October were hit by strike at its plants, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) also reported decline in its sales. However, new entrants in the compact car market such as Honda, Toyota and Volkswagen reported impressive sales during the festive season.
Maruti Suzuki reported a 53.25 per cent decline in its sales at 55,595 units last month, mainly due to labour unrest at its Manesar plant (Gurgaon) that severely affected production, particularly that of its popular model Swift that had now a backlog of over one lakh units. Due to the strike, MSIL lost production of over 40,000 units in the month.
Despite introducing its new small car Eon, HMIL reported a 7.45 per cent drop in its total sales at 48,325 units in October. In the domestic market its sales fell 4.95 per cent at 33,001 units, while exports also declined by 12.42 per cent at 15,324 units. Eon has got more than 9,000 bookings till date. “We have seen that sales get a boost in the festival season, but this year, sentiment has been tepid,” said HMIL Director (Marketing and Sales) Arvind Saxena.
However, Tata Motors reported a modest 5 per cent increase in its sales at 68,009 units in October, with the world's cheapest car, Nano, selling 3,868 units, up 26 per cent. In the commercial vehicles segment, the company sold 38,714 units in the domestic market during the month at 34,328 units, an increase of 12.78 per cent.
Honda Siel Cars India, which introduced small car Brio recently, reported 4.76 per cent jump in sales at 5,526 units during the month. The sales comprised 1,220 units of Brio, 463 units of hatchback Jazz, and 3,376 units of its flagship sedan City.Similarly, Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported an impressive 63 per cent increase in sales at 10,762 units, thanks to its latest products sedan Etios and its hatchback version Liva, both available in diesel and petrol variants, which sold 3,405 and 2,454 units, respectively. “Production in October has been low due to the festive holidays. However, we have registered a growth in sales last month,” said TKM Deputy Managing Director (Marketing) Sandeep Singh.
Volkswagen also reported a 67 per cent jump in its sales at 7,266 units in October, where its compact car Polo and sedan Vento jointly selling 6,814 units. U.S.-carmaker Ford also reported a 12 per cent increase in total sales at 10,906 units, mainly on account of higher exports. Its domestic sales declined by 10.36 per cent to 8,091 units.
“Exports are a strong part of our growth strategy…it is wonderful to see the Chennai-made Figo winning hearts of customers in overseas markets too,” said Ford India President and Managing Director Michael Boneham.
General Motors India also reported a marginal increase in its sales at 10,062 units, with hatchback Beat at 5,328 units contributing the most, while its sedan Cruze also sold 732 units.
