The Hindu Business Line : Car sales up 26 pc in April-Dec

With a growth of upwards of 26 per cent in the first nine months of the fiscal, domestic passenger car sales are likely to touch 7,20,000 units in sales this fiscal, Mr Jagdish Khattar, President, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), said while addressing a press conference to announce the seventh Auto Expo (to be held between January 15 and 20) today.

"The last quarter of the fiscal is usually the largest in terms of sales for the industry. It contributes about 28-29 per cent of total annual sales," he said.

As per data released by SIAM today, car sales in December, boosted by an unusually buoyant mid-size segment, grew 36.52 per cent to 50,189 units compared with sales last year. For the first nine months of the current fiscal, sales grew 26.88 per cent to 4,84,029 units.

SIAM said the mid-size segment consisting of models such as the Ford Ikon, Corsa Sail and Indigo, rose 97.71 per cent to 12,559 units during December 2003 compared with the same period a year ago. During the first nine months, sales grew 50.29 per cent to 94,778 units compared with April-December 2002.

The car sales in December boomed because of heavy discounts offered by the manufacturers and the announcement of an impending increase in the price tags in January due to rising costs of inputs.

The mini segment, consisting of the Maruti 800, grew 12 per cent to 13,641 units in December while for the first nine months, sales rose 28.44 per cent to 1,23,206 units. In the compact car segment, December sales grew 24.5 per cent to 22,284 units while in April-December 2003 sales rose 15.39 per cent to 2,52,753 units.

The executive segment witnessed the highest growth though the base itself was low. The segment grew 1,826 per cent to 1,310 units in December 2003, while for the first nine months it grew a whopping 2,134 per cent.

The premium segment sales grew 48.48 per cent to 392 units while the first nine months saw sales grow 25 per cent to 3,715 units. On the exports front, passenger cars saw a growth of 74.55 per cent to 89,687 units in the first nine months of the fiscal.

Organisers optimistic despite dropouts

SPEAKING about the Auto Expo at a pre-event conference, Mr Jagdish Khattar, President SIAM, said that this year's expo would provide an opportunity to showcase India's manufacturing capabilities to the world.

The Auto Expo begins Thursday with 960 auto and component makers from 26 countries showcasing their products.

Despite the non-participation of big automobile companies such as Honda, Toyota, General Motors, Ford, and Hero Honda among others at the event citing high rental costs, the organisers remained optimistic about the success of the expo.

Disagreeing, with the contention of a section of the automobile industry that the participation costs are exorbitant, Mr Subodh Bhargava, Past President, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Chairman Trade Fairs, said that a large part of the auto and component industry is present at this year's expo.

"Around 20 per cent of the cost is towards rent that is paid to the Indian Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), which owns the venue. Rest is for mounting the show. We will try to control costs and bring down the cost of participation for the companies in the future," he said.

The last expo had also generated domestic business worth Rs 28.6 crore and exports worth $7.63 million for the participants.