Honda City Leads As Car Sales Pick Up
The Honda City continued to race ahead in the mid-sized car segment, notching up a sales of 859 cars during May. The model, launched early this year has bucked the overall sluggishness in the segment and has consistently sold over 600 cars a month.
There was a marginal pick-up in the overall sales in the segment when compared to the dismal performance during April. Almost 4,100 cars were sold during May as against a little over 3,200 cars sold during April, according to provisional estimates available with industry sources.
However, sales during May this year were considerably lower than the figures recorded during the corresponding month last year.
Maruti Udyog retained its leadership status in the segment recording a sales of 1,725 cars during the month, according to top industry sources. This is an improvement over the 1,200 cars sold during April.
Both General Motors and Mahindra Ford also registered a marginal improvement over their April sales during May. General Motors sold 355 Opel Astras during May as against 276 sold during the previous month. The company has also ended the month with a healthy order book of over 400 cars.
Mahindra Ford sold 336 Escorts last month. This is a substantial increase over the April sales of only 180 cars. However, the sales for both the companies were a drop over their respective May 1997 sales.
With the difference between petrol and diesel prices increasing further after the budget, the company can expect fresh customer interest in its 1800 cc diesel version of the Escort.
The Honda City, which ranks high on the fuel efficiency factor, is also expected to attract more interest, sources said.
Though Daewoo's Cielo has done well after its price cut, its sales this year continues to lag behind the previous year's figures. Though exact figures are not yet available, industry estimates suggest that the company has sold more than its April tally of 770 cars.
Industry sources who felt there was a marginal recovery during May, now fear a set back.
The changes in the import duty structures announced in the budget are expected to trigger a across the board increase in car prices.