Automobile sales continued to be tepid in January, with most of the manufacturers reporting a marginal increase or a significant drop in sales over the same month last year.
While market leader Maruti Suzuki India’s domestic sales were up two per cent, its total sales were down 1.1 per cent to 1,14,205 units in January 2003.
Industry leaders say high interest on loans affected sales. However, with banks now reducing interest rates on vehicle loans, they expect sentiment to improve and sales to pick up. Tata Motors posted a decline of 29.5 per cent in total sales (including exports) at 61,660 vehicles in last month, compared with 87,465 units sold during January 2012.
Ford India’s total sales dropped by 34 per cent to 7,115 units from 10,789 units in the same month in 2012.
But, sports utility vehicles manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) grew by 11 per cent to 49,503 units during January against 44,718 units in January last year.
“The industry has already seen reductions in auto loan rates announced by some banks which will help improve customer sentiments,” said Pravin Shah, Chief Executive, Automotive Division, M&M.
Hyundai Motor India reported a 4.3 per cent growth in total sales for the month at 52,024 units compared with 49,901 vehicles sold in January 2012.
Honda Cars India reported a three-fold increase in its domestic sales for January at 5,451 units compared with 1,784 units in the same month last year.
Renault India’s sales grew by more than four times to 4,914 units in January from 885 units sold in January 2012.
Volvo Auto India sold 75 cars in January, almost tripling the numbers from 26 vehicles sold during the same month previous year.
General Motors India has sold 7,588 vehicles against 8,241 units sold in the corresponding month last year.
Two-wheelers segment
Suzuki Motorcycle India registered 14 per cent increase to 39,982 units in January against 35,099 units in January 2012.
“The growing customer satisfaction has led to positive word-of-mouth in the market,” said Atul Gupta, Vice President - Sales and Marketing.
Similarly, India Yamaha Motor registered a growth of 13.2 per cent by selling 29,785 units last month compared with 26,300 units sold in January 2012.
Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India also reported a 21.63 per cent growth in sales at 2,30,304 units during the month compared with 1,89,353 units sold in same month a year ago.