The Indian car sales kicked off sluggishly in fiscal 2014. Barring Hyundai Motors, other car manufacturers including Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors posted lower sales in April than last year. On the Export front, Tata Motors and Hyundai Motors posted higher sales.
Maruti Suzuki
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. reported April total sales, including exports, of 97,302 vehicles, down 3 percent from the 100,415 units last year.
In the domestic market, the company reported sales of 90,523 units, flat with last year's 90,255 units in the corresponding month of last year, while exports stood at 6,779 units, down 33 percent from the 10,160 units in April 2012.
Under the passenger vehicles category, Mini segment comprising M800, Alto, A-Star, WagonR had sales of 34,927 units during the month, down by 14 percent from the 30,720 units a year-ago, while Compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, and Ritz fell by 17 percent to 21,535 vehicles from the 26,072 vehicles last year.
Sales of DZire covered under Super Compact segment were 19,446 units, higher by 25 percent than 15,510 units in April last year, while sales of SX4 in Mid-size segment were 601 units, down by 5 percent from the 634 units last April.
Tata Motors
Total sales for Tata Motors, including exports, were 51,160 units, down by 15 percent from the 60,086 units in April last year.
Domestic sales of commercial vehicles were 36,025 units, 2 percent lower than 36,647 units sold in April last year.
Passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market were 11,570 units, a 51 percent decline, from 23,658 vehicles a year ago.
Export sales last month increased by 28 percent to 3,565 vehicles from the 2,781 units in April 2012.
Hyundai Motors
India's second largest car maker Hyundai Motor India Ltd. commenced the first month of the current fiscal positively, with total two-wheeler sales growing by four percent to 56,954 units from 54,606 sold in April 2012.
In the domestic market, sales fell by eight percent to 32,403 units from the 35,070 units in same month last year. Exports, however, went up by 26 percent to 24,551 units from 19,536 units during the same period last year.
Senior Vice President (Sales and Marketing) Rakesh Srivastava said, "The exports have shown good growth on account of strong demand from non-European markets, while the domestic market continues to witness pressure...there are signs of recovery with the increase in demand for petrol cars."
At BSE Sectoral indices, auto sector was up by 4.70 percent at 13.00 hrs. IST on Thursday.
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