The Hindu Business Line : January proves a good start for car makers

While most of the companies registered a growth of over 40 per cent, the country’s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd’s sales were up by a modest 4.23 per cent.

A release from Maruti Suzuki said that the total number of vehicles sold in January was at 68,107 units against 65,341 units in January 2007.

The company said domestic sales grew 2 per cent at 63,459 units (62,248). Exports jumped 50 per cent to 4,648 units (3,039 units).

However, sales of its once-flagship model M800 declined 22 per cent to 5,470 units (7,021 units). The compact car segment including Alto, Zen Estillo, Wagon R and Swift recorded three per cent increase at 45,957 units (44,736).

Its latest launch, the SX4, continued its good run with the mid-sized sedan segment recording 12 per cent growth at 2,939 units (2,615 units), it added.

The country’s second largest car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), announced an overall growth of 41.4 per cent in January 2008 to 37,701 units (26,661).

While the domestic sales grew 39.1 per cent to 24,301 units, exports grew 45.6 per cent 13,400 units.

“The i10 is off to an amazing start. We are doubling the production capacity to 600,000 units per annum by inaugurating the second plant tomorrow in Chennai which will have a capacity of 300,000 units per annum, to cater to the increased market demand for Hyundai brand of vehicles in India and overseas,” Mr H.S. Lheem, Managing Director, HMIL.

General Motors India has registered a healthy growth of 46 per cent in January 2008. The company said it sold 5,517 units in January 2008 (3,776 units).

Commenting on the sales Mr P. Balendran, Vice-President, GM India, said, “With the consistent surge in monthly sales, our key focus remains to address the changing customer needs while providing them world class products and best in class service.”

Luxury carmaker Skoda India reported a 47.87 per cent rise in its domestic sales during January at 1,526 units (1,032).

The sales include 680 units of its newly launched hatchback SkodaFabia, the company said in a statement.

TVS sales down

On the two-wheeler front, the sales of TVS were down 22.93 per cent to 93,385 units in January this year against 1,21,147 units for the same month previous year. However, exports rose by 85.96 per cent to 13,108 units (7,049), TVS Motor said in a statement.

During the month, motorcycle sales stood at 38,961 units (69,634), while in the scooter segment, 18,594 units were sold (20,534).

““In the next two months, the company plans to launch several new products, including a new entry level StaR Sport, to overcome the hurdle of restricted availability of retail finance, high rates of interest and stringent norms followed by financiers,” the release added.

It also said that the company would launch new Scooty Teenz Electric and Apache RTR Efi in the coming months and would also foray into the three-wheeler market.

More Stories on : Cars | Trends

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page