Automobile firms end 2014 with healthy sales growth (Roundup)

Indian automobile manufacturers closed 2014 on a positive note, as companies reported stellar sales for December last year.

India's largest passenger car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki closed December 2014 with healthy sales growth of 20.8 percent, including exports at 109,791 units.

The company sold 90,924 units in December 2013.

It's domestic sales increased by 13.3 percent to 98,109 units during the month under review from 86,613 units sold in the corresponding month of 2013.

Maruti Suzuki exported 11,682 units last month, which was a rise of 171 percent from 4,311 units sold overseas during the last month of 2013.

Chennai-based manufacturer Hyundai Motor India's sales increased by 21 percent in Dec 2014 at 59,365 units from 49,078 units in the corresponding month of 2013.

The company said its domestic sales during the month under review grew by 14.7 percent and stood at 32,504 units - up from 28,345 units sold in the corresponding month of 2013.

The company's exports last month zoomed by 29.6 percent at 26,861 units - up from 20,733 units shipped out during December 2013.

"In the challenging market conditions of calendar year 2014, Hyundai did all time record high sales of 4.11 lakh units with all time high projected market share of 21.8 percent in passenger cars on the strength of strong product portfolio, aspirational brand and customer focused strong channel," Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Hyundai Motor India.

Bengaluru-based Indo-Japanese joint venture (JV) Toyota Kirloskar Motor's (TKM) overall sales grew by eight percent during December 2014 at 13,628 units from an off-take of 12,622 units in the corresponding month of 2013.

TKM's domestic sales during last month grew by 10 percent and stood at 11,740 units from 10,648 units sold in December 2013.

However, American automobile manufacturer General Motors India closed last month selling 2,086 units lesser than what it sold in December 2013.

The company said it sold 3,619 vehicles in December 2014 against 5,705 units sold in corresponding period last year.

"Demand continues to remain suppressed on account of high interest rates and weak economic fundamentals. The withdrawal of excise duty benefits is also a big jolt for the automobile industry," P. Balendran, vice president, was quoted in the statement.

"We don't see any positive movements in the short-term unless the government comes out with some big-ticket announcements in the upcoming budget to revive consumer sentiment," he added.

In terms of two-wheelers, Hero MotoCorp and TVS both reported healthy sales numbers for Dec 2014.

Two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp last month reported its best-ever calendar year performance, with a record sale of 6,645,787 units in 2014 from an off-take 6,183,849 units sold during 2013.

The yearly sales represents a growth of eight percent.

In December 2014, the company sold 526,097 units from an off-take of 524,990 units in the corresponding month of 2013.

The cumulative sales of the company so far in the financial year 2015 (April-December 2014), stood at 5,056,325 units.

Meanwhile, motorycles, scooters and auto-rickshaw maker TVS Motor Company's (TVSMC) sales in the month under review grew by 20 percent with total sales logging 191,880 units.

Total two-wheeler sales increased by 19 percent from 153,358 units in December 2013 to 181,994 units in the like month of 2014.

In the scooter segment, sales of the company grew by 25 percent at 52,411 units in Dec 2014, while in motorcycles, sales rose by 22 percent at 70,188 units.

The three-wheeler segment sales grew the strongest at 61 percent from 6,137 units in Dec 2013 to 9,886 units sold in the corresponding month of 2014.

The company's total exports grew by 28 percent at 32,969 units.