The growth has come on the back of prices hikes carried out by most car makers leading to a sustained weakness in consumer sentiments
A sharp boost in retail demand across January coupled with buoyancy from new model launches has helped some car makers report double-digit growth in February. For others, the growth remained sombre.
The month saw price hikes carried out by most car makers leading to sustained weakness in consumer sentiments.
Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest car maker, posted 0.9 percent growth in wholesale (sales from company to dealers) to 139,100 units in February as against 137,900 units sold in the same month last year.
Wagon R, new Ertiga, updated Baleno along with Omni and Eeco are few of the models that have helped Maruti surpass sales of the same month last year. The increase in sales has come on the back of a price hike of up to Rs 10,000.
Utility vehicle specialist Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) posted 17 percent growth in passenger vehicle sales to 26,109 units in February as against 22,389 units.
The XUV 300 and Marazzo were the two new models that the Mumbai-based company had launched in recent months. Both models have been well received in the market, said M&M.
Rajan Wadhera, President, Automotive Sector, M&M said, “The month of February has augured well for Mahindra. We have witnessed a strong double-digit growth of 16 percent in our UV portfolio, on the back of our newly-launched XUV300 model.”
Tata Motors, the country’s fourth-largest carmaker, posted 2 percent growth in passenger vehicle volumes to 18,110 units during February as compared to 17,771 units. The Mumbai-based company had launched the Harrier in January which the company said has been received well and plans are afoot to raise its production.
Mayank Pareek, President, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors said, "We have strived to maintain our growth trajectory at a time when the market is under stress. Despite the challenging environment last month, we witnessed a growth of 2 percent, fueled by the good performance of our new generation products.”
Japanese giant Honda, which is readying the relaunch of Civic sedan recorded 16 percent growth in February to 13,527 units as compared to 11,650 units sold in the same month last year.
Rajesh Goel, Senior Vice President and Director, Sales and Marketing, Honda Cars India said, “The overall market sentiment is not overtly buoyant at this stage, however, we hope the market will revive soon. The all-new Civic which is slated for launch next week has received an overwhelming response in the pre-launch phase and we are confident that it will bring excitement in the executive sedan segment”.
Sales of Toyota Kirloskar continued to remain weak despite a new launch during the year. The company, which had launched the mid-segment sedan Yaris, recorded a drop of 1 percent in sales to 11,760 units during February as compared to 11,864 units.
