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The automobile industry saw moderate growth during March, even as Hyundai Motor India and Honda Cars India achieved highest ever monthly sales. In the two-wheeler segment, too, companies saw moderate growth in March over the same month last year.
In the passenger car segment, market leader Maruti Suzuki India sold around 1.04 lakh units in March in the domestic market, compared with 1.02 lakh units in the same period last year.
For 2014-15, the company recorded the highest ever total sales of around 12.92 lakh units. The previous high was in 2010-11, when it sold 12.71 lakh units.
Hyundai, the second largest car-maker, sold 39,525 units in the domestic market, against 35,003 units in March 2014.
“The market share of 16.3 per cent was the highest-ever with strong performance of new models like Elite, i20 Active, Xcent and Verna and led by strong marketing initiatives to engage rural markets and repeat buyers,” Rakesh Srivastava, Senior Vice-President - Sales and Marketing, HMIL, said.
He, however, said the outlook for 2015 seemed challenging, as currently there was low traction in the market with weak delivery on macroeconomic parameters and low customer sentiment.
Honda Cars registered its highest ever monthly domestic sales of 22,696 units during March and saw a growth of over 23 per cent, compared with 18,426 units in March last year.
“Fiscal 2015 has been extremely fruitful for Honda. The new Honda City achieved exceptional success with over one-lakh sales in record 15 months. We are excited about the upcoming launch of Honda Jazz in the new fiscal and look forward to another year of good growth,” Jnaneswar Sen, Senior Vice-President – Marketing & Sales, Honda Cars India, said.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor sold 13,333 units in March in the domestic market against 8,206 units in March 2014.
Domestic player Tata Motors also saw growth in passenger vehicle sales, especially after the launch of the Tata Zest sedan and the hatchback Bolt. Its sales grew 19 per cent during the month to 15,039 units, compared with 12,640 units in March 2014.
However, Mahindra & Mahindra, and two US-based companies – Ford India and General Motors India – could not see sales growth.
Two-wheelersIn the two-wheeler segment, market leader Hero MotoCorp sold around 5.32 lakh units in March, up 2 per cent against 5.24 lakh units in the corresponding month last year.
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India also saw a moderate growth (around 2 per cent) at 3.99 lakh units during March, against 3.92 lakh units in March 2014.
Tamil Nadu-based TVS Motor Company also saw moderate growth.
In the commercial vehicle segment, there are still concerns over sales of light and heavy vehicles.
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