Car companies have started financial year with a bang and reported good sales. leading auto makers Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor, M&M, Ford India, Renault began the new financial year with robust sales in April as also two-wheeler majors Hero MotoCorp and Honda Motorcycles & Scooters.
Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said its domestic sales increased by 16.2 per cent during the month to 1,17,045 units as against 1,00,709 units in April 2015.
The company saw sales of its utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Grand Vitara, Ertiga, S-Cross and recently launched compact SUV Vitara Brezza surge over 3-fold to 16,044 units from 4,452 units a year ago.
Sales of compact segment, comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz, Dzire and Baleno increased by 8 per cent to 45,700 units in April as against 42,297 units a year ago.
However, sales of mini-segment cars including, Alto and WagonR declined 9.9 per cent to 31,906 units compared with 35,403 units in the year-ago period.
Rival Hyundai Motor ltd (HMIl) India's domestic sales rose 9.7 per cent to 42,351 units last month as compared to 38,601 units a year ago.
"In an industry seeing challenges on rural sales and diesel vehicle sales, Hyundai continued its growth momentum with volume growth of 9.7 per cent over last year with strong performance of... Creta, Elite i20, Grand," HMIl senior vice- president sales and marketing Rakesh Srivastava said.
Home-grown utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra saw its domestic sales growing 14 per cent at 39,357 units last month compared with 34,467 units in April 2015.
The company's Chief Executive (automotive division) Pravin Shah said the company expects to maintain its growth momentum with wide range of product portfolio as well as the new launches of variants and refreshes.
Commenting on the diesel ban issue, he said: "We do hope that the Honourable Supreme Court, while taking a decision on diesel vehicles ban in NCR region on May 9, will take cognisance of all the facts, including the role that the automotive industry plays in the country's industrial growth." Renault India's sales zoomed over threefold to 12,426units in April as against 4,001 units last year.
"The Renault KWID has received an overwhelming response in the Indian market, not only from the metros but also from smaller cities and towns," Renault India Country CEO and Managing Director Sumit Sawhney said.
On the outlook, he said: "Going forward, we are confident of maintaining the sales momentum, as we strategically working towards expanding our sales and service network in India."
likewiswe, Ford India also reported 32.44 per cent rise in its domestic sales at 6,531 units last month as against 4,931 units in the same period a year ago.
"Our three-pronged brand transformation strategy based on introducing products that customers want and value, addressing the cost of ownership perception and delivering a differentiated customer experience has enabled us to deliver above industry growth rate," said Anurag Mehrotra, executive director, Marketing, Sales, and Service at Ford India.
Tata Motors reported 9.9 per cent growth in sales at 39,763 units in April compared with 36,190 in the same month last year. Domestic sales of Tata Motors' commercial and passenger vehicles rose 11 per cent at 35,978 units during the month as against 32,404 in April 2015.
But Honda Cars India reported a 17 per cent decline in domestic sales at 10,486 units in April.
It had sold 12,636 units in the same month last year, the automaker said in a statement.
last month, Honda Cars India (HCIl) sold 198 units of small car Brio, 869 premium hatchback Jazz, 2,639 compact sedan Amaze, 374 MPV Mobilio and 5,793 mid-sized sedan City.
The company has dispatched 567 units of its yet-to-be-launched compact sports utility vehicle (SUV), BR-V.
In the two-wheeler segment, market leader Hero MotoCorp reported a 15 per cent increase in sales at 6,12,739 units in April as against 5,33,305 in the same month last year.
Rival Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) reported 26.51 per cent increase in total sales at 4,31,011 units in April. It had sold 3,40,679 units in the corresponding month last year.
Bajaj Auto, however, saw its total vehicle sales dip by 2 per cent last month at 3,30,109 units as against 3,36,274 units in the same month a year earlier.
India Yamaha Motor posted 65.75 per cent jump in sales to 63,927 units in April. TVS Motor reported a sales growth of 16 per cent during the month of April 2016, with total sales increasing from 195,937 units recorded in the month of April 2015 to 227,096 units in the month of April 2016.