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Except for a few commercial vehicle players and two-wheeler makers, most automobile companies reported a decline in sales or, at best, a marginal growth in September. This was mainly due to a higher base in the corresponding month last year and subdued demand in the North India due to the shradh period.
For instance, in the passenger car segment, market leader Maruti Suzuki India reported a decline in sales year-on-year (YoY) to around 1.15 lakh units in September 2018, against 1.17 lakh units in September 2017. .
Marginal growth
However, in the total domestic passenger vehicles segment sales, it managed to grow marginally at more than 1.51 lakh units during the month, against 1.50 lakh units last year.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor also managed to grow marginally during the month, led by strong demand in the Crysta, Fortuner, Yaris and Etios Liva.
Creta maker Hyundai Motor India reported a 5 per cent drop in YoY sales to 47,781 units (50,028 units). Similarly, Honda Cars India reported a 19 per cent decline in sales to 14,820 units (18,257 units).
Home-grown Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) also reported a 16 per cent decline in sales to 21,411 units (25,414 units).
“September has been muted for passenger vehicles due to factors such as low consumer buying sentiment, high fuel prices and the effect of monsoon in many parts of the country,” said Rajan Wadhera, President, Automotive Sector, M&M.
However, Tata Motors reported a 7 per cent growth to 18,429 units last month (17,286 units) due to continued demand from new-generation vehicles, the company said.
“We expect sales to pick up this festival season and, to boost our customer morale, we are bringing four new products to the market. We have already launched the Nexon KRAZ and the Tiago NRG and are now gearing up for our third product launch, scheduled for October 10,” said Mayank Pareek, President, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors.
In the two-wheeler segment, market leader Hero MotoCorp reported its highest-ever monthly sales at 7.69 lakh units during the month, up around 7 per cent as compared with around 7.21 lakh units in September 2017.
TVS Motor Company, Royal Enfield and Suzuki Motorcycle India also reported growth in their sales.
In the commercial vehicle segment, except M&M, all reported growth in sales YoY during the month.
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