Auto sales in November 2017: Indian carmakers post double-digit increase in domestic sales, exports remain tepid

The Indian car market maintained the same pace in November it gained during the course of festive season in October. The monthly auto sales report for November 2017 saw Indian auto players post double-digit growth numbers. Market leader Maruti Suzuki grew over 14 per cent in November compared to the corresponding month last year, whereas Mahindra and Mahindra saw overall sales of its automobile arm rise 13 per cent.

While domestic sales saw healthy growth for all carmakers active in India, exports seem to have taken a hit over the course of last month. Even Maruti Suzuki's exports figures remained grounded with a meagre 0.8 per cent growth rate. Toyota was the worst hit with a exports falling by over 46 per cent during November. Contrastingly, Ford India was able to post over 36 per cent growth in exports, which is also the best by the company in India.

Maruti Suzuki India

India's biggest auto comonay Maruti Suzuki sold a total of 1,54,600 units in November, amounting to a 14.1 per cent year-on-year increase as compared to 1,35,550 units in the corresponding month last year. The company's domestic sales stood at 1,45,300 units, up 15 per cent from 1,26,325 units in November last year, MSI said in a statement.

Exports in November grew marginally to 9,300 units as compared with 9,225 units in the same month last year, Maruti Suzuki said in a statement.

The sought after small car portfolio of the company has hit a rough patch too. Sales of mini segment cars, including Alto and WagonR, witnessed a 1.8 per cent decline to 38,204 units during the month under review from 38,886 units in November 2016, the company said. Even the nsales of company's flagship mid-sized sedan Ciaz fell by 26.2 per cent to 4,009 units during the month.

Also Read:As India moves towards premium cars, can Dzire topple Alto?

Meanwhile, the compact segment of Maruti Suzuki featuring offerings like Swift, Estilo, Dzire and Baleno went on post growth of 32.4 per cent in November. Sales of company's utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Grand Vitara, Ertiga, S-Cross and compact SUV Vitara Brezza increased by 34 per cent to 23,072 units in November, from 17,215 units in the same month of 2016.

Toyota India

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) managed a 13 per cent rise in domestic sales after selling 12,734 units in November. The company had sold a total of 11,309 units in the same month last year, the company said in a statement. On the other hand, TKM exported 686 units of the Etios series in November 2017 compared to 1,284 in the same month last year, a decline of 46.57 per cent.

On the sales performance, N Raja, Director and Senior Vice President (Sales and Marketing), TKM, told PTI, "The November month has been promising for us with a double digit growth. TKM has sustained a positive growth since last three months. With maximum utilisation of Plant 1 and maintaining lean inventory the company is trying to reduce the waiting period of Innova and Fortuner for customers."

He further said, "With no change in price post cess hike, we hope customers demand will pick up in the upcoming months, Camry Hybrid which is the flagship model will continue to be a significant part of Toyota product lineup."

Mahindra and Mahindra

Indian auto major Mahindra and Mahindra reported an year-on-year increase of 18 per cent in total sales at 38,570 units in November as opposed to 32,564 units in the same month last year, M&M said in a statement.

Mahindra saw its sales grow 21 per cent in the Indian auto market with 36,039 units sold last month, compared to 29,869 in November 2016. Meanwhile, exports from Mahindra Motors declined 6 per cent to 2,531 units against 2,695 units in the year-ago month.

Sales of passengers vehciles including Scorpio, XUV500, Xylo, Bolero and Verito, increased 21 per cent to 16,030 units compared to 13,198 units in the same month last year. Commercial vehicle sales was up 22 per cent to 15,554 units in November against 12,718 units in the year-ago period, Mahindra said.

"We are happy to be in a positive growth phase for November 2017, which is usually a lean period post the festive season. We expect our growth momentum to continue on the back of some recent refresh launches as well as the positivity of our product portfolio," Rajan Wadhera, President (Automotive Sector), Mahindra and Mahindra told PTI.

Hyundai Motor India

Hyundai Motor India today reported a 10 per cent increase in domestic sales at 44,008 units in November. The company had sold 40,016 units in November 2016, HMIL said in a statement.

Rakesh Srivastava, Director(Sales and Marketing),Hyundai Motor said growth during the last month has been achieved due to the strong performance of next gen Verna along with Grand i10, Elite i20 and Creta.

"Due to strong pull of festive demand on the strength of buoyant rural markets, we hope to build on this positive momentum with a cumulative retail sales of 2,00,000 units for the period September to December 2017," Srivastava said.

The company has also strengthened exports with dispatch of 2,022 units of Verna to the Middle East market, he added.

Ford India

Ford India today reported a 28.63 per cent increase in total sales at 27,019 units in November this year. The company had sold 21,004 units in the same month last year, Ford India said in a statement. The company were up 13.1 per cent at 7,777 units last month as against 6,876 in November last year, driven mainly by recently-introduced new edition of compact SUV Ford EcoSport, it said.

The company posted its best ever export performance last month. Its exports during the month increased 36.19 per cent to 19,242 units, compared to 14,128 in November 2016. Anurag Mehrotra, President and Managing Director, Ford India, said the company is confident of maintaining sales momentum getting into 2018, despite macroeconomic indicators suggesting volatility in inflation and crude prices impacting the industry growth over the near-medium term.

(With PTI inputs)