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Our Bureau

New Delhi, Oct. 10 Automobile sales during September continued to record a dip as two-wheelers, medium and heavy commercial vehicles, and three-wheelers recorded negative growth.

Passenger cars was the only category with a robust sales growth of 11.67 per cent at 1,05,822 units, heralding the oncoming festive season.

Maruti Suzuki continued to lead the segment with sales at 56,322 units, recording a growth of 14.83 per cent. It was followed by Hyundai Motors India Ltd that grew by 9.42 per cent at 17,993 units. While General Motors showed a 195 per cent jump in sales with its newly launched Spark at 3,798 units, sales of premium car maker Honda Siel continued to fall by 11.85 per cent at 5,272 units.

“Excluding the new launches, sales have been negative or flat for most players. However, there was preponement of the festival season in the South which contributed to better sales from there as compared to anticipated sluggish sales due to the Shraddha period,” said Mr Rajan Pental, Vice-President, Auto Loans, HDFC Bank.

“Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, which accounts for 50 per cent of the domestic market, had its production closed for almost 10 days, and that has resulted in the relative decline in the segment,” said an auto analyst from B&K Securities India.

“As per the Hindu Calendar year, buyers don’t prefer purchases during the Shraddha period, which has resulted in postponement of purchases. Maruti, however, hiked discounts in the last few days by Rs 5,000 on Alto, Wagon R and Estilo to lure buyers,” said a Maruti dealer.

“Unlike last year, when the festival season was in October and November which led to better sales in September as the dealers had started piling inventory anticipating increased demand, this year the festive season has been delayed. So the major excitement would begin from October onwards,” said the B&K Securities analyst.

The commercial vehicles segment during September continued to record a mixed trend with light commercial vehicles recording 9.84 per cent growth in sales at 19,162 units during September, as against 17,444 units in the same month last year.

High interest rates, overloading in trucks continued to trigger a fall in the sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles with a 5.26 per cent decline in sales at 23,608 units from 24,920 units last year.

Commercial vehicles manufacturer Eicher Motors has reported sales of 2539 units during September 2007, a growth of 23 per cent as compared to same period last year.

Eicher recorded a growth of 80 per cent in its heavy commercial vehicles with sales at 600 units. The company exported 301 units in September this year, recording an overall growth of 21 per cent during the month, said a company statement.

On the two-wheeler front, sales of motorcycles declined by 18.4 per cent at 5,48,816 units as against the scooter-scooterette segment that saw buoyant sales at 95,266 units during the month, an increase of 26.17 per cent over September last year.

Hero Honda clocked a 4.98 per cent growth in sales during September at 2,97,792 units as against its other two competitors, Bajaj and TVS, which recorded a massive fall.

Bajaj Auto sales fell by 32.10 per cent at 1,66, 870 units, followed by TVS Motors that recorded a further decline of 56.84 per cent at 42,898 units.

“Anticipating higher sales in the coming festive season, there is stock correction that is happening at the dealers’ end, which has enabled Hero Honda to post growth in contrast to its rivals,” said industry sources.

More Stories on : Automobiles | Cars | Trends

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