Car makers post rise in November sales; Maruti down for 6th time

After a dull festive season, major car makers in the country, barring market leader Maruti Suzuki India, on Thursday reported growth in sales in November on the back of new models, notwithstanding a sluggish market.


Persistent high fuel prices and interest rates have slowed demand for vehicles in India. Consumer are opting more for diesel vehicles, due to their higher efficiency and because the fuel remains cheaper than gasoline.


Maruti Suzuki India Ltd recorded a sixth-straight fall in monthly car sales as it was not able to keep pace with rising demand for diesel-powered vehicles, while November sales at Tata Motors Ltd. and the India units of Toyota Motor Corp., Hyundai Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. all grew.


Maruti Suzuki India saw its sales decline 19.2 per cent to 82,870 units in November compared to same month last year. The company also took a beating due to lesser production caused by labour unrest. However, compared to October, sales grew 61 per cent for Maruti.


Tata Motors sales grew 76 per cent to 28,774  units in the same period, thanks to over 6401 Nanos sold in November compared to just 509 in November last year. Homegrown firm Mahindra & Mahindra's November sales grew by 53 per cent to 40,722 units with the hike in petrol prices clearly working in the favour of its diesel car portfolio.


General Motors India reported a marginal increase in sales for November at 8,440 units as against 8,376 units in the same month last year.


Volkswagen also reported a 45.75 per cent increase in sales for November in India at 6,722 units driven mainly by compact car Polo and sedan Vento.


Another car maker SkodaAuto India also reported 42.69 per cent increase in its monthly sales at 2,627 units compared to 1,841 units in the same month last year.


High petrol and diesel prices have also led to shift in demand towards two-wheelers which also tend to see a lower impact from high interest rates.


This was evident in the sales of Hero MotoCorp which reported its highest ever sales for November month at 5,36,772 units, registering a jump of 27.39 per cent over the same month last year.


Chennai-based TVS Motor Co posted a growth of 7.79 per cent in domestic two-wheeler sales at 1,50,406 units compared to 1,39,541 units in November 2010.


Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) reported 53.64 per cent growth in its total sales at 1,99,154 units in November 2011, while India Yamaha Motor said its domestic sales during the month stood at stood at 28,178 units as against 22,710 units in the same month last year, up 24.08 per cent.


Suzuki Motorcycle India also said its sales grew by 23.11 per cent in sales in November this year at 31,332 units as against the same month last year.


While two wheeler sales may have bucked the slowdown to an extent, analysts warn that for the industry as a whole 2011 will be a year of flat growth at best.


Talk of price hikes in January from market leaders like Maruti could further dampen sentiment and sales leaving the auto sector wondering whether 2012 will bring back the cheer or not.

Tags: auto sales, Maruti