Maruti, Honda sales decline in June

URBAN APPETITE: Automakers are banking on the 7th pay panel recommended payouts to help spur demand. File photo: V. Ganesan

Passenger car sales of Maruti and Honda fell in June as other carmakers such as Hyundai, Toyota and Tata Motors reported growth.

The auto industry is banking on the 7th Pay Commission announcement and a good monsoon to boost demand.

Market leader Maruti Suzuki India’s domestic sales dipped 10 per cent in June, mainly from a disruption in production due to a fire at its key vendor Subros’ plant. MSI sold 92,133 units in the domestic market against 1,02,626 units in June 2015.

The company said it expects to recover the production losses during the course of the year.

Hyundai Motor India saw a growth of nearly 10 per cent in domestic sales to 39,806 units.

Sales of Honda Cars fell 38 percent to 11,407 units, compared with 18,380 units during the same month last year.

Yoichiro Ueno, President and CEO of Honda Cars India said that since a shift in consumer preferences led to high stock of diesel vehicles at dealerships, the company has been rationalising wholesale dispatches.

“June is generally a weaker month for car sales due to monsoon,” Amit Kaushik, Country Head (India) at automotive research firm JATO Dynamics said. “But the 7th Pay Commission award is expected to boost sales in the urban areas. Rural demand is expected to rise owing to a normal monsoon.”

Ford India sales almost doubled to 9,469 vehicles during the month against 4,527 units in June 2015.

Renault India said its sales increased 173 per cent to 11,837 units in June 2016.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor sales rose by 29 per cent to 13,502 units.

Tata Motors’ passenger vehicles sales grew 22 percent to 12,509 units.

Two-wheelers

In the two-wheeler segment, market leader Hero MotoCorp saw a marginal increase in its overall sales at 549,533 units against 542,362 units in the year-ago period.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India recorded a 23 per cent increase in sales, while Yamaha Motor’s sales (including Nepal) grew 31 per cent. TVS Motor reported a16.4 per cent rise in domestic sales to 2,06,784 units in June 2016. Sales of Royal Enfield rose 34 per cent to 49,060 units.