Maruti sales zoom 31%
Excise duty reduction helped car companies post better domestic sales in June with major firms, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Honda, Mahindra & Mahindra, Toyota and Ford reporting growth. But, there were companies like General Motors India and Tata Motors which announced decline in their domestic sales during the month.
The country's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said its domestic sales rose 31 per cent during the month to 1,00,964 units as against 77,002 units in June 2013.
The growth was on the back of higher sales in the mini segment cars, including M800, Alto, A-Star and WagonR, which jumped by 52.1 per cent to 47,618 units as against 31,314 units in the same month last year.
Sales of the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz rose by 6.2 per cent to 22,293 units in June this year as against 20,996 units in the same month a year ago.
The company said sales of its popular compact sedan Dzire rose 27.4 per cent during the month under review to 15,990 units as against 12,548 units in June 2013.
Rival Hyundai Motor India ltd (HMIl) reported 9.5 per cent increase in its domestic sales at 33,514 units last month as compared to 30,610 units in May 2013.
Commenting on the sales performance, HMIl Senior Vice President (Sales and Marketing) Rakesh Srivastava said the growth in the domestic sales has been due to the success of Xcent, Grand and Santa Fe.
On the future outlook, he added: "With the extension of excise duty benefit, we hope to maintain the growth in volume while strengthening our product portfolio and improving channel efficiencies".
Ford India said its domestic sales increased by 1.58 per cent to 7,258 units in June as against 7,145 units in the same month last year.
"The Government's decision to extend the excise duty concession is a welcome move and will certainly uplift consumer purchasing sentiments as we head into the festive season over the next few months," Ford India Executive Director (Marketing, Sales and Service) Vinay Piparsania said.
In the Interim Budget in February, the government had provided for a cut in excise duty to propel sagging sales till June 30. last week Government decided to extend reduced excise rates on automobiles till December 31.
Honda Cars India also reported a jump of 75 per cent in domestic sales at 16,316 units in June. It had sold 9,297 units in June last year.
Similarly, Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported 9 per cent increase in domestic sales at 12,010 units in June as compared to 11,010 units in same period of last year.Mahindra & Mahindra domestic sales also rose marginallyat 36,457 units last month as against 36,207 a year earlier.
"We have achieved a marginal growth in our sales in June 2014 and do hope that the auto industry will continue to stay in a positive zone," M&M Chief Executive (Automotive Division) Pravin Shah said.
The recent announcement by the government of an extension in the lowering of excise duty will provide a fillip leading up to the festive season, he added. In February, excise duty on small cars, scooters, motorcycles and commercial vehicles was reduced to 8 per cent from 12 per cent.
It was reduced to 24 per cent from 30 per cent in the case of SUVs, 20 per cent for mid-sized car from 24 per cent and 24 per cent for large cars from 27 per cent.
The upswing, however, wasn't visible in the sales of General Motors India which reported 21.33 per cent decline in domestic sales at 5,172 units last month as against 6,575 units a year earlier.