Automobile sales picked up in October, riding on new launches, festival season offers and a reduction in fuel prices, with most passenger car and two-wheeler makers recording a positive growth. However, some companies, such as Bajaj Auto, recorded a fall in sales of motorcycles.

In the passenger car segment, the country’s largest manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki India, sold 1.21 lakh units in the domestic market in October, up 25 per cent compared with 97,069 units in the same month last year.

The second-largest car-maker, Hyundai Motor India, also reported a 24 per cent increase in sales to 47,015 units last month against 38,010 units.

“Hyundai sales are at an all-time high, with models such as Grand i10 selling 14,079 units and continued strong performance of premium brands, Creta and Elite i20/Active, at 8,244 units. We expect the growth momentum to continue,” said Rakesh Srivastava, Senior Vice- President — Sales and Marketing, Hyundai Motor.

Honda up 50% Honda Cars India posted an over 50 per cent increase in sales at 20,166 units compared with 13,242 units.

Ford India also improved domestic sales of the new Figo hatchback to 10,008 units, up 49 per cent against 6,723 units.

Home-grown companies Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Tata Motors also picked up sales during the month. While M&M sold 24,060 units (versus 20,255 units), Tata Motors sold 12,798 units against 11,511 units.

“The advent of the festive season has provided the much-needed fillip to the auto industry, especially on the back of new launches,” said Pravin Shah, President and Chief Executive (Automotive), M&M.

However, sales of Fortuner-maker Toyota Kirloskar Motor declined marginally year-on-year (YoY) to 12,403 units in October, against 12,536 units.

In the two-wheeler segment, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India reported 19 per cent growth YoY to 4.32 lakh units compared with 3.62 lakh units in October last year. Royal Enfield, TVS Motor Company and India Yamaha Motor recorded a healthy growth YoY.

Bajaj Auto down 8% However, Bajaj Auto recorded an 8 per cent decline YoY in its motorcycle sales to around 3.09 lakh units against 3.37 lakh units in same month last year.

“Passenger car sales have increased due to pent up demand, new launches and attractive pricing. The growth is mainly happening in the urban pocket, but this growth does not look sustainable looking at the overall distress in the rural economy,” said Abdul Majeed, Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In the commercial vehicles segment, except Tata Motors, others such as M&M, Ashok Leyland and Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles reported higher volumes during the month.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW