Sharp Decline In Telco, Bajaj 11-Mth Sales: Aiam

Auto makers Telco, Bajaj, and Escorts suffered sharp decline in sales in the 11 months of the financial year 1997-98 in line with the general slowdown in the industry, while Maruti Udyog and Hero Honda made large gains.

Telco suffered a sharp 42.65 per cent dip in sales of heavy commercial vehicles (HCV), while sales of its light commercial vehicles (LCV) were down 22.5 per cent, latest figures indicate.

Sales figures of 1997-98 (April-February) released yesterday by the Association of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM), an apex body of auto majors, indicated a flat growth for the Rs 45,000-crore industry.

Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) also suffered huge dip in sales in the large scooter segment as well as in the mopeds segment.

 

While scooter sales of Bajaj were down 11.8 per cent and in mopeds 27 per cent, the Pune-based company registered a modest 2.8 per cent growth in sales of its motor cycles.

Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) showed a five per cent increase in sales and improved its stronghold over the passenger car market by garnering a whopping 82.54 per cent marketshare, AIAM figures indicated.

Delhi-based motor cycle manufacturers Hero Honda of the Munjals clocked a whopping 54 per cent rise in sales.

The HCV segment, often referred as a barometer of the general health of the economy, registered a sharp 38.46 per cent decline in sales in the first 11 months of 1997-98 as against sales in the same period last fiscal. AIAM said HCV sales was 80,225 units this year as against 1,30,363 units last year.

Telcos competitor Ashok Leyland suffered a 27.43 per cent dip in sales in the HCV segment but suffered a 30 per cent decline in sales in the LCV category.

LCV sales were down 21 per cent at 57,450 units as against 72,721 units last year and all leading players barring Mahindra and Mahindra (which clocked a 14.33 per cent growth) registered lower sales. Sales of Eicher was down 18.17 per cent while sales of Bajaj Tempo were down 35.72 per cent, AIAM figures indicate. Despite a five per cent growth in sales of Maruti, the passenger car industry registered a 0.03 per cent growth at 3.76 lakh cars as against 3.63 lakh cars in the same period.

Korean car maker Daewoo had to confront a 41 per cent decline in sales and Hindustan Motors 14 per cent, while multinationals General Motors and Mercedes Benz improved sales by 16 per cent and 64 per cent respectively.

Bajajs loss in the scooter segment was the gain of LML, the Kanpur-based Singhania company, which improved its marketshare from 21.16 per cent last year to 24.48 per cent this year.

At 11,61,395 units, scooter sales were down two per cent and the marketshare of Bajaj fell from 55.35 per cent to 49.8 per cent, AIAM figures showed.

While Bajaj sales were down 11.8 per cent, all its rivals Kinetic Honda (up 10.53 per cent), LML (up 13 per cent) and TVS (up 30 per cent), were able to step up their output.

Delhi-based Hero Honda outpaced the market sentiments by registering a 54 per cent rise in sales and was able to improve its marketshare from 26.95 per cent to 36.16 per cent.

The motor cycle industry, which sold 10,16,195 units in the 11 months as against 8,82,317 units in the same period last year, registered an impressive 15.17 per cent growth.

Bajajs marketshare in this segment dipped to 28 per cent from 31 per cent while escorts of the Nandas had a tougher time as its sales were down by a massive 22.3 per cent. Escorts marketshare fell to 15.33 per cent as against 22.7 per cent last year.

The story was none too different in the 5.8 lakh unit moped segment (down 6.1 per cent), where Bajaj sales were down 27 per cent. Its rivals TVS and Majestic Auto recorded flat growth.

Three-wheeler sales at 2.14 lakh were up eight per cent, due to the market leader Bajaj selling eight per cent more this year. Multi-utility vehicles recorded a flat growth, but Telcos Sumo improved its position, AIAM figures revealed.