Festivals fail to cheer auto majors

Sentiment remains subdued during October

October did not fully deliver on the hopes of turnaround pinned on it.

Even as major car makers such as Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai Motor India and Honda Cars India posted growth in sales in October, the festive month, which usually accounts for 30 per cent of annual sales for automobile companies, did not fully deliver on the hopes of turnaround pinned on it.

Companies such as Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors and Ford registered a decline in sales as sentiments remained subdued.

Maruti Suzuki’s domestic sales rose just one per cent to 97,069 units. The company said less number of working days during the month impacted sales.

Its recently launched mid-sized sedan Ciaz received good response with the company selling 6,345 units during the month.

Hyundai Motor India registered an increase of 5.57 per cent in sales to 38,010 units. Company Senior Vice President (Sales and Marketing) Rakesh Srivastava said there was increase in sales in the additional and replacement buyers segment with demand led by new models like Elite i20, Xcent, coupled with festival buying.

Honda Cars India had a good month, posting 18.08 per cent increase in sales to 13,242 units. “We have clocked excellent sales during the year so far,” company Senior Vice-President (Marketing and Sales) Jnaneswar Sen said.

Mahindra & Mahindra has reported 15.71 per cent decline in sales at 40,274 units last month. “Our sales for October remained subdued on the back of overall sentiment and high interest rates,” its Chief Executive, Automotive Division and International Operations (AFS), Pravin Shah, said.

Tata Motors said the muted market sentiment continued to impact overall sales. Its total sales of passenger vehicles for October stood at 11,511 units, lower by 19 per cent. Toyota Kirloskar Motor said its sales in the domestic market were 12,556 units during the month, down 4.6 per cent. Company TKM Senior Vice President (Sales and Marketing) N. Raja said, “We have maintained the sales volumes as September in the domestic market and hope to see growth in the next two months.”

Ford India’s domestic sales also declined by 26.62 per cent to 6,723 units. Nissan, too, reported a 15.86 per cent decline in sales at 4,106 units.

In the two-wheeler segment, TVS Motor Company posted 18 per cent rise in sales at 1.73 lakh units.