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| Hyundai zips ahead, Tata falters |
| BS Reporter / Mumbai Jan 03, 2009, 00:52 IST |
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Korean firm’s Dec sales surge 19%, Indian biggie posts 31% fall.
The cut in excise duty on cars has boosted the December sales of only a handful of companies, including Hyundai, Honda Siel and SkodaAuto, while that of Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) have continued to slide.
Domestic sales of the Korean car brand, Hyundai, rose 19.3 per cent on the back of continuing demand for the i10 model and also fresh dispatches of the i20 model from its factory. The company sold 15,602 units during December as against sales of 13,078 units in the same month a year ago.
Arvind Saxena, Senior V-P (Marketing and Sales), Hyundai Motor India, said, "Since the last quarter of 2008, the market situation has become extremely challenging. A combination of factors like innovative schemes, established products and a large network is what has helped Hyundai in these difficult times."
In the month under review, Japanese car maker Honda Siel too posted a growth of 9 per cent at 3,667 units as compared to 3,363 units in December 2007. Its newly-launched premium, mid-size sedan City got impressive response with sales of 2,972 units, while the new Accord sold 171 units.
Similarly, SkodaAuto India registered a sales growth of 28.5 per cent at 16,188 units as against 12,596 units sold in the corresponding month of the previous year.
Meanwhile, India's third-largest car maker Tata Motors witnessed a drop of 31 per cent in sales of cars and sports utility vehicles (SUVs) at 9,838 units as against 14,316 units posted in December 2007.
While sales of Indica declined by almost 29 per cent at 6,749 units, Sumo and Safari sales were down by 58.8 per cent at 1,416 units during the reporting month.
"A deepening recessionary trend in the economy coupled with continuing credit squeeze and high interest rates has further depressed customer sentiments. As a result, automobile purchases are being severely impacted," the company said in a statement.
M&M, the country's largest SUV maker, posted a drop of 22 per cent in sales of utility vehicles, including models such as Scorpio and Bolero. The company reported sales of 7,726 units as compared to 9,909 units posted in December 2007.
Demand for the Logan sedan too was hit with sales dropping to just 272 units, a fall of 82 per cent as compared to 1,504 units during the month a year ago.
TVS Motor’s sales down 22 per cent
Chennai-based two-wheeler maker TVS Motor has reported a fall of 13 per cent in domestic sales of two wheelers at 72,355 units in December as against 83,174 units posted in the same month a year ago. Despite the company reducing prices by Rs 700-2000 across models, which was a result of the reduction in central value added tax by the government, it failed to enthuse customers. During the month, TVS exported 16,930 units of two-wheelers against 14,402 units in the corresponding period of the previous year, up by 17.6 per cent.
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