The Hindu Business Line : May car sales drive past bikes

Driven by high volumes registered by major carmakers including Maruti Udyog and Tata Motors, car sales growth in the domestic market outpaced motorcycle demand in May, jumping by almost 30 per cent.

According to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), car sales stood at 88,814 units in May against 68,519 units in the same month last year, up 29.6 per cent.

As many as eight of the 11 carmakers, including Maruti, Tata Motors, Hyundai, Ford, Honda and General Motors, saw substantial growth in sales.

Sales for Maruti grew a healthy 31.6 per cent to 45,267 units in the month against 34,382 units in the same month last year. For Tata Motors, the numbers increased to 15,253 units from 11,511 units in May 2005, SIAM said.

Bike sales

Motorcycles, meanwhile, continued their strong run as sales jumped 24.6 per cent at 5,69,005 units in May 2006 against 4,56,565 units in the same period last year.

While market leader Hero Honda sold 2,85,193 units in May 2006 against 2,16,971 units in the same period last year at a growth of 31.4 per cent, sales for Bajaj rose by 20.2 per cent at 1,72,847 units.

Scooter sales, however, continued to decline as sales fell 1.2 per cent to 73,919 units against 74,864 units in May 2005. A slower demand growth for segment leader Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India and continued decline in sales of Bajaj Auto scooters pulled down the growth rate for the segment.

Overall two-wheeler sales in May were up 19.8 per cent at 6,69,407 units against 5,58,515 units in the same month last year, SIAM said.

Commercial vehicles, meanwhile, grew by 39.8 per cent at 32,948 units against 23,552 units in May 2005. An across-the-board rise in demand pushed up overall numbers.

The medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) segment saw demand rising by 38.9 per cent at 19,575 units against 14,092 units in the corresponding month.

More Stories on : Cars | Trends | HCV/LCV/Tractors | Two/Three Wheelers

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