JOIN USFestive season failed to lift the spirits of car makers, as major manufacturers Maruti Suzuki India and Hyundai registered flat domestic sales growth in October.
While homegrown firms Mahindra and Tata Motors reported decline in their sales, their global rivals like Toyota, Honda, Ford and General Motors witnessed growth during the month riding on new and refreshed model launches.
Two-wheeler makers Hero MotoCorp and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India posted healthy growth in October riding on festive season and robust rural sales buoyed by good monsoons.
Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) posted a marginal increase in its domestic sales at 96,062 units as against 96,002 vehicles in October last year.
The company’s sales in the minicar segment, including M800, Alto, A-Star and WagonR, declined by 6.8 per cent to 39,379 units last month.
MSI’s sales in the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz also declined by 1.2 per cent to 22,188 units in October.
Hyundai’s domestic sales were marginally up at 36,002 units during the month, from 35,778 units in October 2012.
Tata Motors registered a decline of 33 per cent in its total passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market in October at 14,133 units. Similarly, Mahindra & Mahindra domestic sales declined by 6.87 per cent in October at 47,787 units.
However, Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) posted a 38.70 per cent increase in its domestic sales in October at 11,214 units, riding on the success of its entry level sedan Amaze.
Similarly, on account of good numbers by its sports utility vehicle EcoSport, Ford posted a rise of 21 per cent in its sales in October at 9,163 units.
General Motors India too reported 14.22 per cent rise in sales at 7,715 units during the last month.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor posted a rise of 7 per cent in sales in October at 13,162 units.
In the two-wheeler segment, Hero MotoCorp reported 18.17 per cent rise in total sales at 6,25,420 units in October this year. This is the first time that the company has sold over 6 lakh units in a month.
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India also reported 50.05 per cent growth in sales at 3,75,741 units for October 2013.
Similarly, Yamaha Motor India Sales also reported 30 per cent growth in total sales at 64,552 during October 2013 as compared to the corresponding period last year. TVS Motor Co reported 4 per cent increase in total sales in October at 1,97,905 units as against 1,90,438 units in the same month last year.