Vehicle makers maintain sales momentum in Feb

Buoyed by strong demand in the domestic economy, passenger vehicle manufacturers continued to post strong growth numbers in February. Last month, nine leading vehicle manufacturers sold 213,633 units, 25.8 per cent more than last year. They had sold 169,841 units in the year-ago period.

Last month, Tata Motors sold the highest number of passenger vehicles in the domestic market in this financial year. Sales of Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) and Hyundai Motor India (HMIL), too, shot up to touch record numbers during the month.

Exports, however, remained a concern for both MSIL and HMIL. Both account for nearly 65 per cent of sales in the Indian market.

The country’s largest car manufacturer, MSIL, crossed the 100,000-mark in sales for the third time in 2010-11.

It sold 101,543 units in the domestic market, 19.8 per cent more than last year. Exports fell 15 per cent to 10,102 units.

Despite registering a moderate growth rate of 5.3 per cent in the domestic market, Hyundai posted its second-best monthly sales numbers in this financial year at 32,629 units. Weak export numbers, however, brought down overall volumes by 4.8 per cent to 52,007 units.

The company held high growth numbers being achieved in the industry were spurred by demand for new models. HMIL launched sport utility vehicle Santa Fe in October last year, but the car is positioned in the premium segment and the introduction was not intended to drive up volumes.

Arvind Saxena, director (marketing and sales), HMIL, said, “While the industry growth, spurred by new products, might be unusually high, Hyundai recorded positive growth, supported by steady sales of its compact cars. We expect the average industry growth rate to stabilise in the future months.”
 

SPEEDY GROWTH
Company	Feb 2010 sales	Feb 2011 sales	% increase
Maruti Suzuki	84,765	101,543	19.8
Hyundai	31,001	32,629	5.3
Tata Motors	29,238	33,751	15
M&M	13,350	15,439	16
Ford	3,223	9,293	188
Volkswagen	422	7,077	1,577
Nissan	44	2,081	4,629.50
Skoda	1,805	2,512	39.17
Toyota	5,993	9,308	55
Total	169,841	213,633	25.8

Tata Motors sold 33,751 passenger vehicles in February, an increase of 15 per cent over last year. It had sold 29,238 units in the year-ago period. Nano sales continued to remain upbeat at 8,262 units. Sales of the small car had dipped to an all-time low of 509 units in November last year.

Mahindra & Mahindra’s sales grew 16 per cent to 15,439 units, with Logan clocking its highest-ever monthly numbers, at 1,151 units.

Two-wheeler sales grow 23% despite higher prices
Despite higher inflationary trends, steeper interest rates and increased vehicle prices, the motorcycle and scooter market posted a robust increase in sales last month.

Hero Honda, TVS Motors, Honda and Yamaha posted high double-digit growth during February, collectively selling nearly 800,000 units, a 23 per cent growth over the same month last year.

Hero Honda, India’s largest bike producer, on Tuesday announced a 23 per cent jump in sales at 472,055 units during February, as against 382,096 units in the corresponding month a year earlier. Chennai-based TVS Motors saw growth of 25 per cent in domestic sales of two-wheelers, at 151,526 units as compared to 121,403 units sold in the corresponding month last year. New models such as the Wego and Jive and others like Scooty and Apache contributed.

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, subsidiary of Honda Motor Corporation, Japan, recorded overall sales of 145,819 units during the reporting month, growth of 19 per cent over 122,261 units sold in the same month last year.

Sales of motorcycles grew to 65,890 units, a rise of 27 per cent over 51,661 in the same month last year. Scooter sales grew by 13 per cent to 79,929 units, as compared to 70,600 units.

Japanese two-wheeler brand Yamaha saw a growth of 37 per cent in sales in the domestic market during the reporting month. Its subsidiary, India Yamaha Motor, sold 23,384 units as against 17,131 units sold in the same month last year.