Falling fuel prices pushed up sales of most automotive companies in January, despite the Government withdrawing excise duty relief for the sector on December 31.

Most car companies, barring Mahindra and Mahindra and General Motors, saw growth in sales, as also two-wheeler makers, except market leader Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto.

Growth engines

Market leader Maruti Suzuki India sold 1,05,559 units in the domestic market in January, up 9.3 per cent, compared with 96,569 units in January 2014.

Hyundai Motor India, the country’s second largest passenger carmaker, sold 34,780 units against 33,405 units during the corresponding month last year.

Tata Motors, led by new launches, such as the Zest sedan and the Bolt hatchback, sold 13,047 units during the month, up 19 per cent against 10,974 units in January last year.

‘City’ and ‘Mobilio’ maker Honda Cars India also grew by 17 per cent year-on-year (YoY) at 18,331 units last month, compared with 15,714 units in January last year.

“January 2015 has been an extremely good month for Honda Cars. We registered our highest monthly domestic sales this fiscal, contributed by strong sales momentum for all models,” said Jnaneswar Sen, Senior Vice-President, Marketing & Sales, Honda Cars India.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor also grew by 16 per cent in its sales.

In the two-wheeler segment, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India sold 3,77,325 units last month, compared with 3,30,761 units in January last year.

Similarly, Tamil Nadu-based TVS Motor Company sold 1,62,284 units in January, up 4 per cent against 1,56,138 units in the corresponding month last year.

Suzuki Motorcycle India’s sales rose 20 per cent to 33,405 units against 27,825 units in January 2014.

However, Hero MotoCorp’s sales fell marginally to 5,58,982 units last month against 5,61,253 units in January 2014. Bajaj Auto’s sales also fell by 12 per cent to 2,46,955 units against 2,81,390 units a year ago.

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