The Hindu Business Line : Vehicle sales in March head north

Mumbai, April 1 The excise duty cut for small cars and commercial vehicles and Cenvat reduction announced in the Union Budget seem to have fuelled the vehicle sales in March with most manufacturers, except Maruti Suzuki, reporting the highest ever monthly sales.

Tata Motors, the largest truck maker in the country, said the company sold 66,495 vehicles last month, which is six per cent more than the sale in the same month a year ago.

While Hyundai Motor India, the second largest carmaker in the country, posted 66 per cent growth, SUV major Mahindra and Mahindra said its sales have shown a 20 per cent growth in March, over the same period last year. Others such as Toyota, General Motors and Honda Siel also said that they recorded the highest ever monthly sales last month.

The lone underperformer was Maruti Suzuki, the largest manufacturer, which showed a two per cent drop in March sales. The robust sales in March helped the vehicle makers to post a good growth rate for the last fiscal.

According to analysts, increased competition in the small car segment appears to have dented Maruti’s dominance in this segment. The total sales in the compact car segment of Maruti Suzuki came down from 47,068 in March 2007 to 41,869 in March 2008, a decline of 11 per cent. However, the midsize segment, with the new addition of Dzire, showed 212 per cent growth at 7,536 units.

Tata Motor’s sales went up on the back of the 17 per cent increase in the commercial vehicle segment. The company’s sales of commercial vehicles in March 2008 in the domestic market were 35,993 against 30,720 vehicles sold in March last year. Mahindra’s total sales including exports in March numbered 24,682 as against 20,595 in the corresponding month last year. Hyundai’s total sales stood at 47,001 units. For Hyundai, the domestic sales grew by 52 per cent while the exports grew by 97 per cent over March 2007. GM sold 6,836 units in March 2008 (4,542 units).

Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) sold 8,895 units in March 2008 (8,487 units), posting a growth of 4.8 per cent. Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) posted a 15 per cent growth by selling 6,215 units in March 2008.

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