New Delhi: Festive celebrations eluded the auto industry in October with major companies such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mahindra and Toyota Thursday reporting low single-digit sales growth for the month as high fuel prices and interest rates hit sentiment.
Honda Cars saw flat sales during the month, while Tata Motors and Ford India managed to post healthy sales growth during the month.
The country’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), said domestic sales stood at 1,38,100 units last month, up 1.5% from 1,36,000 units in October last year. The company witnessed growth in the mini and compact segments which includes models such as Alto, Swift and Baleno, but saw a dip in sales utility vehicles (SUVs) during the month. Sales of mini cars comprising Alto and WagonR were at 32,835 units, compared with 32,490 units in July last year, up 1.1%.
Similarly, sales of compact segment, including models such as Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire, were up 3.7% to 64,789 units, against 62,480 units in September last year. However, utility vehicles, including Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga fell 11.2% to 20,764 units, compared with 23,382 units a year ago.
Rival Hyundai posted its highest-ever monthly sales in the domestic market at 52,001 units, up 4.9% from 49,588 units in October last year, led by strong demand for the all-new Santro and other models such as Creta, Elite i20 and Grand i10.
Homegrown utility vehicles major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) reported a 3% increase in the sale of passenger vehicles at 24,066 units, compared with 23,453 units in the same month last year.
“For the past few months, the automotive industry has been witnessing subdued retail sales for passenger vehicles segment, because of low consumer buying sentiment. Therefore, one has to remain cautious on how the festive season ultimately turns out to be,” according to Rajan Wadhera, president, automotive sector, M&M.
Similarly, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) reported a 2% increase in domestic sales at 12,606 units in October, compared with 12,403 units in the same month last year.
TKM deputy managing director N Raja said they were “able to sustain good customer demand despite the dampening effect on consumer sentiment owing to the hike in fuel prices, higher interest rates and increase in insurance premium.”
Honda Cars India’s sales remained flat at 14,233 units during the month, against 14,234 units last October.
“Despite the festival season, consumer sentiment remained subdued last month comparison with other years. However, Amaze continued its strong performance and the recently launched CR-V created fresh excitement in its segment with its premium offering,” Honda Cars India Ltd senior vice-president and director, sales and marketing Rajesh Goel said.
Tata Motors, on the other hand, reported an 11% increase in passenger vehicle sales at 18,290 units last month, compared with 16,475 units in October 2017. “While the industry grew at 2%, Tata Motors saw a robust growth of 11%. We are therefore pleased to sustain positive traction despite strong headwinds such as hike in fuel prices, higher interest rates and increase in insurance premium,” Tata Motors president of passenger vehicles business Unit Mayank Pareek said.
Similarly, Ford India saw its domestic sales surge over two-fold to 9,044 units in October, from 4,218 units a year ago.
Commenting on the sales performance, Ford India president and managing director Anurag Mehrotra said: “The industry continues to face headwinds of low consumer sentiment, high fuel price and interest rate in the near term.”
In the two-wheeler segment, market leader Hero MotoCorp reported a 16.4% rise in total sales at 7,34,668 units for October. It had sold 6,31,105 units in October last year.
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India’s sales rose 12% to 5,21,159 units in October, compared with 4,66,552 units in October 2017.
TVS Motor Company posted a 26% rise in total sales to 3,98,427 units in the month, against 3,17,411 units in the same month last year.
Niche bike maker Royal Enfield reported a 1% sales growth at 70,451 units in October. It had sold 69,492 units in October last year. On the other hand Suzuki Motorcycle India reported a 30.76% jump in sales in October at 65,689 units.
This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed