Car sales up 3 p.c. in April-July

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 20. Passenger car sales went up in July this year on the basis of good performance by Maruti, Telco, Honda and Ford. Negative growth figures were recorded by Hyundai, Hindustan Motors and Fiat while Daewoo, which sold over 4,000 cars in July last year, did not reveal its figures. On the whole, the entire car industry bettered the sales figures in July as compared to the same month last year, according to statistics released here today by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Maruti sold 30,168 cars in July, thus accounting for 62 per cent of the total market share. Sales of Hyundai for once slipped to 6,963 units as compared to 7,265 cars sold in July last year. Ford India more than doubled its sales to 3,463 units as compared to 1,502 in the year-ago month. Telco found customers for 4,212 cars as compared to 3,583. General Motors' performance was more or less unchanged while Fiat slipped marginally. Total car sales in July stood at 48,481 (excluding Daewoo) as against 48,028 in the same month last year. Cumulative sales in April-July stood at 1.96 lakh units, nearly 3 per cent higher than 1.91 lakh units sold last year.

A similar trend was witnessed in the multiutility segment where competition has sharpened due to the entry of Toyota and Mahindra. Leading the race was Mahindra & Mahindra with sales of 4,115 units (3,553 last July) followed by Toyota Kirloskar 3,107 (2,301).

Telco saw a setback with its products attracting just 1,847 customers as compared to 2,593 in the year-ago month. Bajaj Tempo sold a few vehicles more than last year while Maruti's Gypsy suffered a slight decline in the same period. Total sales in the MUV segment during July stood at 58,550 as against 57,265 in the year-ago month. Cumulative sales between April and July were at 2.34 lakh units as compared to 2.28 lakh vehicles.

While July proved a bleak month for light commercial vehicles (LCVs) there was some cheer for medium and heavy commercial vehicle manufacturers. As many as 6,252 units of heavy vehicles were sold as compared to 5,917 in July last year. Telco recorded double digit growth while Ashok Leyland suffered a slight impact on sales. In the LCV segment, Telco recorded negative growth figures with its sales falling to 2,065 from 2,754 units last July. Overall, sales of commercial vehicles by nearly two per cent to 10,195 units in July this year as against 10,397 units.

After a long time, the scooter industry managed to arrest the near-continuous slide in sales, but only marginally. Sales in July stood at 73,082 units, 37 units more than in the same month last year. But a mixed picture emerged within this sub-segment. Baja Auto recorded a healthy jump in sales of nearly 20 per cent while sales of Maharashtra Scooters and LML registered declines. In between Kinetic managed to hold previous ground while TVS saw a slight increase in sales. The new entrant Honda sold 3,887 scooters in a tight market.

Motorcycle sales increased by 31 per cent to touch 2.08 lakh units as against 1.58 lakh units in the same month last year. Bajaj Auto and Hero Honda registered a sharp increase in sales while TVS Suzuki sold fewer vehicles. Yamaha also saw its sales increasing. Sales of mopeds fell by 25.2 per cent to 46,551 units as compared to 62,289. Three-wheeler sales also fell six per cent to 18,801 units as against 20,002 units.

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Section  : Business
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