Mahindra & Mahindra's sales drop by 8.3 percent in December

Automobile maker Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Thursday reported a decline of 8.3 percent in its total sales in the month of December.

Compared to December 2013's sales figure of 39,611 units, the company sold 36,328 units in December 2014.

Although its sales in the passenger vehicles segment rose by 5 percent for the same time period, overall domestic sales fell by 6.56 percent as well as its exports which registered a decline of 31.57 percent.

The sales figure of passenger vehicles stood at 17,311 units, compared to 16,436 units in December 2013.

In the three-wheeler vehicles segment, the company was hit the hardest as sales declined by 27 percent.

"The industry which was showing early signs of recovery would be severely impacted by the withdrawal of the excise duty concessional rate which would affect overall business sentiment as it will lead to an increase in vehicle prices," said the company's chief executive, automotive division and international operations Pravin Shah.

However, he added 2014 had been a challenging year for the auto industry and the 5 percent increase in passenger vehicle sales is satisfactory.

Four-wheel commercial vehicle sales were down by 15 per cent to 12,194 units last month as against 14,399 units in the year-ago month, M&M said.