Automobile firms stretch sales mileage in 2014

Industry expects Budget to come out with big ticket announcements

Indian automobile manufacturers closed 2014 on a positive note, as companies reported stellar sales for December last year.

India’s largest passenger car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki closed December 2014 with healthy sales growth of 20.8 per cent, including exports at 109,791 units. The company had sold 90,924 units in December 2013.

Its domestic sales increased by 13.3 percent to 98,109 units during the month under review from 86,613 units sold in the corresponding month of 2013.

Maruti Suzuki exported 11,682 units last month, which was a rise of 171 percent from 4,311 units sold overseas during the last month of 2013.

Chennai-based car manufacturer Hyundai Motor India’s sales increased by 21 percent in December 2014 at 59,365 units from 49,078 units in the corresponding month of 2013.
The company said that its domestic sales during the month under review grew by 14.7 per cent and stood at 32,504 units, up from 28,345 units sold in the corresponding month of 2013.

The company’s exports last month zoomed by 29.6 percent at 26,861 units, up from 20,733 units shipped out during December 2013.

“In the challenging market conditions of calendar year 2014, Hyundai achieved all-time record high sales of 4.11 lakh units, with all-time high projected market share of 21.8 per cent in passenger cars on the strength of strong product portfolio, aspirational brand and customer-focused strong channel,” Hyundai Motor India Senior Vice-President (Sales and Marketing) Rakesh Srivastava.

Bengaluru-based Indo-Japanese joint venture (JV) Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s (TKM) overall sales grew by eight percent during December 2014 at 13,628 units from an off-take of 12,622 units in the corresponding month of 2013.

TKM’s domestic sales during last month grew by 10 percent and stood at 11,740 units from 10,648 units sold in December 2013.

However, American automobile manufacturer General Motors India closed last month selling 2,086 units lesser than what it sold in December 2013. The company said it sold 3,619 vehicles in December 2014 against 5,705 units sold in corresponding period last year.

“Demand continues to remain suppressed on account of high interest rates and weak economic fundamentals. The withdrawal of excise duty benefits is also a big jolt for the automobile industry,” GM india VP P Balendran said.

“We don’t see any positive movements in the short term until the government comes out with some big-ticket announcements in the upcoming budget to revive consumer sentiment,” he added.