Motown reports robust sales in April

India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) posted a 19.5 per cent jump in total sales at 1,51,215 units in April, against 1,26,569 units in the same month last year.

Its domestic sales rose 23.4 per cent during the month to 1,44,492 units compared to 1,17,045 units in April 2016. Sales of mini segment cars, including Alto and WagonR, were up 21.9 per cent to 38,897 units from 31,906 units a year ago, MSI said in a statement.

The company said its sales in the compact segment — comprising Swift, Estilo, Dzire, Baleno and Ignis — increased 39.1 per cent to 6,35,84 units in April this year against 45,700 units in the same month of 2016.

Sales of mid-sized sedan Ciaz rose 23.2 per cent to 7,024 units during the month. Sales of utility vehicles, including Ertiga, S-Cross and Vitara Brezza, rose 28.6 per cent to 20,638 units in April from 16,044 units in the corresponding month last year.

The company posted a decline of 4 per cent in sales of vans, Omni and Eeco, at 13,938 units last month compared to 14,520 units in the year-ago month. Exports during the month, too, declined 29.4 per cent to 6,723 units from 9,524 units in April last year, MSI said.

Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) on the other hand reported a 3.57 per cent increase in total sales at 56,368 units in April this year. The company had sold 54,420 units in April 2016, HMIL said in a statement.

Domestic sales were up 5.68 per cent at 44,758 units during the month, as against 42,351 units in the year-ago period, the company said.

Exports in April stood at 11,610 units, as against 12,069 units during the same month last year, down 3.8 per cent. Commenting on the sales performance, HMIL director sales & Marketing Rakesh Srivastava said the company continued its growth momentum "on a strong base of last year".

The company received tremendous response for the new compact sedan Xcent, while other brands Grand i10, Elite i20 and Creta continued to drive volumes, he added.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) reported a 47.85 per cent jump in total sales at 14,057 units in April, driven by its newly launched SUV Fortuner.

The company had sold total 9,507 units in the same month last year, TKM said in a statement.

Domestic sales grew 51.81 per cent to 12,948 units as against 8,529 units in April last year, it added. TKM exported 1,109 units of the Etios series in April 2017 as compared to 978 units in the same month last year.

Commenting on the performance, N Raja, director and senior vice-president, sales & marketing, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said: "This growth has been propelled by the overwhelming response the new Fortuner has received."

The new Fortuner has already sold more than 12,200 units in less than six months of its launch, Raja said. He further said the company’s new Corolla Altis sedan also received good response from customers since its launch in March, while multi-purpose vehicle Innova Crysta also registered strong sales.

Japanese auto major Nissan reported a 39.26 per cent increase in India sales at 4,217 units in April.

The company said it had sold 3,028 units in April 2016. Commenting on this performance, Nissan India managing director Arun Malhotra said the company has started the fiscal on a robust note in terms of sales and sentiment.

The newly launched Terrano and Datsun redi-GO continue to get good response from customers, he added.

Tata Motors on Monday reported a 21 per cent decline in total sales in April at 30,972 units as compared to 39,389 units in the same month last year.

Domestic sales of Tata Motors' commercial and passenger vehicles declined by 19 per cent to 28,844 units in April, as compared to 35,604 units in the same month of the previous year.

Sales of passenger vehicles in the domestic market grew 23 per cent to 12,827 units. "While the industry faced short-term headwinds further to the BS-III verdict, Tata Motors continued its robust sales performance with a growth of 23 per cent in April led by a strong pipeline for Tiago and a positive response for our new lifestyle UV - Tata HEXA," Tata Motors president passenger vehicles business unit Mayank Pareek said in a statement.

The company has completed the launch of Tata Tigor across the country and has been well received by customers, he added.

In the commercial vehicles segment, the company's domestic sales were down 36 per cent at 16,017 units, the auto major said.

The company said its commercial vehicles were affected by the Supreme Court judgement on March 29, banning sales of BS- III vehicles.

Two-wheeler giant Royal Enfield sales, too, saw a 25 per cent hike at 60,142 units in April. The two-wheeler division of Eicher Motors reported a 24.78 per cent jump in total sales at 60,142 units in April. It had sold 48,197 units in April 2016, Eicher Motors said in a statement. Exports grew 36 per cent to 1,578 units.

The world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer Hero MotoCorp (HMCL) despat-ched 591,306 units of two-wheelers in April 2017. The company had despatched 612,739 units in the corresponding month last year.

The two-wheeler industry saw heavy retail off-take towards end-March.