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Neha Kaushik

New Delhi , Dec. 25

IT may just be the best year the Indian car market has seen till date. In fact, market analysts point out that it may well end with a growth of about 20 per cent over last year.

According to industry data, car sales have grown by about 18.3 per cent between January and November 2003 over the corresponding period last year.

And the growth drivers? Mainly it was the spurt in new launches and makeovers the year round that has spurred sales. Besides, a price decline following a cut in excise duty in the Union Budget, lower interest rates and a deluge of discounts/schemes has helped the sales spiral to zoom.

In a bid to keep consumer interest alive in the category, over 15 models/variants have already been introduced during the year. These include the likes of the Hyundai Santro Xing, the new Honda City and Accord, Chevrolet Optra, Opel Corsa Sail, new-look Maruti Zen and WagonR, Toyota Corolla, and at least 4-5 variants of the Ford Ikon, among others.

Another category that saw hectic action this year was the sports-utility segment where big ticket roll-outs such as the Hyundai Terracan, Honda CRV, Ford Endeavour, Chevrolet Forester and the Grand Vitara generated much interest.

While the compact car segment (which consists of models such as the Santro, Zen, and Palio) continued to be the largest segment accounting for more than 50 per cent of total car sales, the mid-size segment and the executive segment managed to increase market share due to new launches and a flood of discounts and freebies on offer.

Stiff competition in the mid-size segment led to car-makers and dealers offering great deals on cars such as the Maruti Esteem, Ford Ikon, Opel Corsa and the Fiat Siena, resulting in prices crashing below the Rs 5-lakh barrier. Further, with the price difference between the compact car segment, and the mid-size segment narrowing down, the mid-size segment managed to improve its share in the car market by a little more than 2 per cent in the January-November 2003 period. The share of the compact car segment (which saw new entrants such as the Santro Xing, the new Maruti Zen and the Opel Corsa Sail) in turn declined by about 5 per cent.

The turnaround seen in cars has enthused car dealers as well, which industry officials pointed out was becoming an unprofitable business. "With two-digit growth since April this year, even our margins have improved," they say.

Meanwhile, automakers which saw a significant increase in sales this year, include General Motors, Hyundai Maruti, Tata Motors and Toyota.

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