Car sales in India hit a record low during the month of March, pushing the overall car sales into a negative territory for the entire fiscal. Major car makers such as Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Hyundai Motor India reported lower sale, on account of torpid demand from customers. Export-wise too Maruti and Tata Motors reported lower sales for the month.
Torpid
The prevailing gloomy macroeconomic environment, uncertain fuel prices and increasing interest rates have taken a toll, constraining customers to defer car purchases.
Maruti Suzuki
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. reported March total sales, including exports, of 119,937 vehicles, down by five percent from the 125,952 units last year.
In the domestic market, the company reported sales of 107,890 units, lower by four percent than the 112.724 units in the corresponding month of last year, while exports stood at 12,047 units, compared to 13,228 units in March 2012, a decline of nine percent.
Under the passenger vehicles category, 'Mini' segment comprising M800, Alto, A-Star, WagonR had sales of 45,047 units during the month, down by 15 percent from the 52,826 units a year-ago, while 'Compact' segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz fell by seven percent to 25,868 vehicles from the 27,913 vehicles last year.
Sales of DZire covered under 'Super Compact' segment were 20,078 units, higher by 22 percent than the 16,451 units in March last year, while sales of SX4 in Mid-size segment were 903 units, down by 41 percent from the 1,520 units last March. The company reported sales of 48 units of Kizashi covered under Executive segment in March 2012.
Cumulative sales, including exports, for the first ten months of this fiscal, stood at 1,171,434 units, up by three percent from the 1,133,695 units in the corresponding period a year ago.
Strengthening its presence in the mid-size sedan segment, the company introduced all new SX4 with improved fuel efficiency. There is no change in the prices of the new SX4, the company said. Powered by two celebrated engines the Super Turbo 1.3 litre diesel and the 1.6 litre VVT petrol engine, the car now offers much more to the car connoisseurs in this segment.
Tata Motors
Tata Motors March total sales, including exports, were 72,712 units, down by 28 percent from 100,414 units sold out last March.
Cumulative sales (including exports) for the fiscal stood at 810,086 units, lower by 11 percent percent over 906,768 vehicles sold last fiscal.
Domestic sales of commercial vehicles during the month were the highest in FY13 at 56,813 units, compared with the 58,063 units sold in March last year, a decline of two percent, .
In the commercial vehicles segment, the Tata Pick-Ups (Tata Super Ace, Tata Xenon and Tata 207) recorded the highest-ever monthly sales at 6,981 nos. Tata SCVs (Tata ace and Tata Magic range) recorded highest ever monthly sales at 29,960 vehicles. Sales of passenger vehicles in the domestic market were 12,347 units, lower by 68 percent from the 38,399 vehicles sold last year.
In the passenger vehicles segment, sales of the Nano/Indica/Indigo range in March were 8,903 nos. The Sumo/Safari/Aria/Venture range sales stood at 3,444 units.
Export sales last month totaled 3,552 vehicles, down by 34 percent from the 5,367 units in March 2012.
Hyundai Motors
Hyundai Motor India Ltd., the country's second largest car-maker and the largest passenger car-exporter, reported a five percent drop in its total sales during March 2012.
In March, its total sales were 56,437 units, down by five percent from the 59,229 units in the same month of the preceding year.
Domestic sales fell by 13 percent to 33,858 units from the 39,122 units in March 2012, while exports went up by 2 percent to 22,579 units from the 20,107 in the year-ago period.
The company said it would soon launch a slew of products for the Indian market, including a compact SUV, an MPV as well as a compact car positioned between its i10 and i20 models. The launches will be supported by a new diesel focus on the back of the company's recent investments in diesel engine capacity.
The company increased the prices across its product line on Monday attributing it to changes in the On Board Diagnostic Compliance (OBD). The increase in prices range from Rs.575 to Rs.2,830. OBD is the system that helps to diagnose and report a problem in a vehicle.
Commenting on the sales, Hyundai Motor India Vice President (Sales and Marketing), Rakesh Srivastava said, "The slowdown of economy is impacting vehicle sales. Against large base of last year, there was a sharp drop in conversion of enquiries in the absence of any positive stimulus and sentiments."
He added, "The company foresees the pressure on volumes to continue till there is significant improvement in macro-economic factors."
At BSE Sectoral indices, auto sector was down by 0.10 percent at 13.29 hrs. (IST) on Tuesday.
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