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| Automobile sales in November see record drop | | AUTO SALES PLUMMET |
| BS Reporter / Mumbai Dec 02, 2008, 00:24 IST |
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Car, two-wheeler and multi-utility vehicle manufacturers felt the impact of a slowing economy with domestic sales registering one of its steepest falls this November.
Leading the pack in passenger cars is Maruti Suzuki which saw sales crash almost 27 per cent, its worst monthly performance in almost 24 months. The company has a 40 per cent market share.
Sales in the A2 or the hatchback segment — which accounts for almost three-fourths of Maruti’s sales and includes the WagonR, Zen and Swift — declined more than 26 per cent. This fall occurred despite the introduction of the A Star mid-November. The drop was a sharper 60 per cent in the A1 segment (Maruti 800) to only 2,307 cars.
The only bright spot for the Japanese car maker was the A3 segment (represented by the SX4 and Dzire) for which sales grew 40 per cent (5,775 cars sold).
A Maruti spokesperson said sales were partly impacted by the fact that both major festivals of Dussehra and Diwali, when major purchases take place, fell in one month, October.
“We, however, remain optimistic about December in which our forays into rural markets, the impact of the Sixth Pay Commission and institutional sales are expected to kick in," the spokesperson added.
Utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra saw sales fall 40 per cent in November. The Logan Sedan, produced by the Mahindra-Renault joint venture, recorded sales of just 300 units, an 81 per cent fall over the same month last year.
Even Tata Motors, India's third largest car maker, reported a decline of 12 per cent in sales to 14,327 units in the month against 16,322 units posted in the same month last year. The Indica range has accounted for most of the fall, declining almost 14 per cent, though Indigo range grew 74 per cent.
A Tata Motors press release said orders in hand could not be converted into sales owing to the lack of financing in the market.
Heavy discounting of the hybrid Civic model, however, has helped Honda Siel Cars India report sales growth of 15 per last month.
In two-wheelers, Bajaj Auto reported a 51 per cent fall in domestic sales last month, one of its sharpest monthly falls. The company sold just 92,350 two- and three-wheelers in the Indian market against 189,502 units in the same month last year.
"Two-wheeler sales were down sharply, reflecting both an accelerated slowdown in demand and the immediate correction in dealer inventories. The latter action will continue into December,” said Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj.
He added that the company intended to counter this trend with an intense new-product initiative that will see the launch of a new motorcycle each month for six months starting January 2009.
| AUTOMOBILES: IN THE SLOW LANE |
| Company |
Nov
'07 |
Nov
'08 |
% Growth/
(fall) |
| Mahindra Renault |
1,561 |
300 |
-80.7 |
| Mahindra |
12,662 |
7,523 |
-40.5 |
| Bajaj Auto (2W) |
211,600 |
132,421 |
-37.0 |
| Maruti Suzuki |
65,216 |
47,704 |
-26.9 |
| TVS Motors |
102,358 |
77,491 |
-24.0 |
| Tata Motors |
16,322 |
14,327 |
-12.2 |
| Honda Siel |
4,425 |
5,090 |
15.0 |
| Hero Honda |
288,027 |
289,426 |
0.48 |
| *Sales figures are for domestic market only except for Bajaj Auto. |
Bajaj’s motorcycle sales, which also include exports, crumbled 37 per cent during the month, with the company selling just 131,681 units against 209,876 in November last year.
Bajaj does not provide segment-wise data of domestic and export sales. In all, the company sold 159,747 units, a fall of 32 per cent in both domestic and export sales.
Chennai-based two-wheeler maker TVS Motors, stated that its domestic sales fell 24 per cent at 77,491 units compared to 102,358 units sold in November last year. It blamed the liquidity crunch and high interest rates for the fall.
Market leader Hero Honda, however, just about managed to buck the trend of falling sales as a result of an aggressive rural initiative and five new launches during the year.
Hero Honda’s November sales grew 0.48 per cent to 289,426 units against 288,027 units in the same month last year.
“Our performance in November is of added significance because it has surpassed November 2007, which was the high-sales Diwali month last year," said Anil Dua, the company’s senior vice president (marketing & sales).
"Last week, the auto industry was hit the hardest by cyclonic rain in south India followed by the terror attacks in Mumbai. The fall has been worse than expected. The mood among buyers is depressed and we will not see a revival till January," said S Ramnath, auto analyst, SSKI Securities.
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