Maruti, Hyundai sales up in May as new govt brings hope

Buoyed by positive sentiment over the formation of a stable government at Centre, domestic car sales saw an upswing in May with major firms, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Honda and Ford reporting good growth.

Yet, others such as Mahindra & Mahindra, General Motors India and Tata Motors reported decline in their domestic sales during the month.

The country's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said its domestic sales rose 16.4 per cent during the month to 90,560 units as against 77,821 units in May 2013.

The growth was on the back of higher sales in the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz, which jumped by 53.9 per cent to 26,394 units as against 17,147 units in the same month last year.

Sales of its popular compact sedan Dzire rose 9.8 per cent during the month under review to 18,953 units as against 17,265 units in May 2013.

MSI, however, reported a decline of by 7.5 per cent in sales of mini segment cars, including M800, Alto, A-Star and WagonR, to 29,068 units as against 31,427 units in the year-ago month.

Commenting on the growth, MSI Chief Operating Officer (Marketing and Sales) Mayank Pareek told PTI: "In the last three years, we did not see any growth. It is for the first time that buyers are not only enquiring but also coming ahead and making purchases. After a long time people have started buying."

Rival Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) reported 12.8 per cent increase in its domestic sales at 36,205 units last month as compared to 32,102 units in May 2013.

Ford India said its domestic sales jumped by 51.24 per cent to 6,053 units in May as against 4,002 units in the same month last year.

Ford India Executive Director (Marketing, Sales and Service) Vinay Piparsania said: "A stable government is a positive development for overall economic and business sentiment in the country. We are hopeful that the new government will support ongoing industry-friendly initiatives like the excise duty reduction and look at further positive measures to improve consumer sentiment."

Honda Cars India also reported 17.8 per cent increase in domestic sales at 13,362 units for last month as against 11,342 units sold in May 2013.

The upswing, however, wasn't visible in the sales of M&M, which reported 15.68 per cent decline in domestic sales at 35,499 units last month as against 42,104 a year earlier.

"Auto sales continue to remain subdued for many players, at the back of yet another challenging month for the industry," M&M Chief Executive (Automotive Division) Pravin Shah said.

He said: "Post the electoral mandate, we expect to see improved sentiment resulting in a better economic situation which we hope will lead to a gradual increase in demand."