Auto majors Maruti, Hyundai post robust sales growth in July

Car sales in India grew at a robust pace in July with market leader Maruti Suzuki India posting record monthly sales while others like Hyundai, M&M, Ford and Renault also registered strong numbers riding on positive sentiments brought by a good monsoon.

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said it had its best ever monthly domestic sales in July at 1,25,778 units, up 13.9% from 1,10,405 units in the same month last year. Its growth was mainly on the back of sales of utility vehicles, including newly-launched compact SUV Vitara Brezza, Ertiga and the S-Cross, which surged over two-fold to 17,382 units in July this year from 6,916 units in the corresponding month last year.

The company’s sales of mini segment cars, including Alto and WagonR, however, declined by 7.2% to 35,051 units as compared to 37,752 units in the year-ago month.

Sales of the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz, Dzire and Baleno increased by 4.1% to 50,362 units in July this year as against 48,381 units in the corresponding month last year.

Rival Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) sold 41,201 units in the domestic market last month as compared with 36,503 units in July last year, a growth of 12.87%. Commenting on the sales performance, HMIL Senior Vice-President (Sales and Marketing) Rakesh Srivastava said the company continued to sustain growth trajectory on the strength of strong pull performance of Grand i10, Elite i20 and Creta.

The market has showed improved customer sentiments led by good monsoon, low inflation, reduced interest rates and dropping fuel prices, he said. Homegrown utility vehicles major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) reported 14% increase in its domestic sales at 35,305 units last month compared with 31,087 units in July 2015.

M&M Chief Executive (auto division) Pravin Shah said: “The advent of good monsoon so far has brought in positive sentiment for the economy and that is somewhat reflected in our performance.”

Tata Motors reported a 7.48% increase in total sales at 43,160 units in July. The company sold 40,154 units in the same month last year. Domestic sales of Tata Motors’ commercial and passenger vehicles grew 8% to 37,789 units in July over the same month of the previous year.

Sales of passenger vehicles in the domestic market grew 31% to 13,547 units last month as against 10,335 in the year-ago period, Tata Motors said in a statement. Passenger car sales were up 43.29% at 12,209 units in July compared with 8,520 in the year-ago period.

In the commercial vehicles segment, the company’s domestic sales were down 2% at 24,242 units, Tata Motors said. Exports during the month were up 6% at 5,371 units compared with 5,078 sold in July 2015.

Honda Cars sales plunge
Honda Cars India (HCIL) reported 24.57% decline in domestic sales at 14,033 units in July. The company had sold 18,606 units in the same month last year, the automaker said in a statement.

Last month, HCIL sold 349 units of small car Brio, 3,517 units of premium hatchback Jazz, 2,309 units of compact sedan Amaze, 137 units of MPV Mobilio and 4,317 units of mid-sized sedan City.

The company also sold 3,333 units of its new compact sports utility vehicle (SUV), BR-V. Besides, it sold 71 units of SUV CRV. In addition, it exported a total of 212 units during the month.

Ford India said its domestic sales rose 62.21% to 7,076 units last month as against 4,362 units in the same period a year ago. Renault India also reported an over seven-fold increase in sales to 11,968 units in July as against 1,686 units same month last year.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) domestic sales grew by 2.76% rise 12,404 units in July, 2016 as against 12,070 units in the same month last year. Nissan Motor India saw its domestic sales rising by over two-fold at 6,418 units in July, compared to 2,841 units in the same period of previous year.

“Our sales have been gaining momentum over the past few months and the trend has been encouraging. The customers have responded positively to the new Datsun redi-GO,” Nissan Motor India Managing Director Arun Malhotra said.

Two-wheeler segment
In the two-wheeler segment, the country’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp reported 9.13% increase in sales at 5,32,113 units in July. It had sold 4,87,580 units in July 2015.

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) reported 16.5% increase in total sales at 4,53,844 units in July. The company had sold 3,89,555 units in the same month last year, HMSI said in a statement.

In the domestic market, the company said its scooter sales stood at 4,29,527 units last month as against 3,71,310 units in July last year, a growth of 15.68%. Motorcycle sales were up 7.39% to 1,20,383 units during the month from 112,096 units in the year-ago period, it added. Exports rose by 33% at 24,317 units  in July this year, it added.

Commenting on the sales performance, HMSI Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing Yadvinder Singh Guleria said July has been a historic month for Honda two-wheelers India, including the crossing of 4.5 lakh unit sales mark.

India Yamaha Motor reported 11.57% increase in domestic sales to 65,244 units in July. The company had sold 58,477 units in the same month a year ago, India Yamaha Motor said in a statement.

Yamaha Motor India Sales Vice President (Sales and Marketing) Roy Kurian said: “Yamaha as a brand in India is gradually getting connected to customers very well as the sales for the new products introduced in 2016 is picking up.”

TVS Motor Company reported a 13.56% increase in total sales at 2,48,002 units in July. The Chennai-based company had sold 2,18,321 units in the same month last year.

Total two-wheeler sales during the month grew by 15.38% to 2,40,042 units as against 2,08,044 units in the same month a year ago, TVS Motor Company said in a statement.

Motorcycle sales rose 22.82% to 95,062 units in July as compared with 77,397 units in the same month a year ago. Scooter sales declined by 2.28% to 68,033 units from 69,626 units in the year-ago period, it said.