Car companies have registered a marginal sales growth in May, owing to rising fuel cost and revised interest rates.
Maruti Suzuki posted an overall growth figure of close to 2 percent for May, selling 1,04,073 units. While sales of the SX4, Dzire, Kizashi, Vitara, Omni and Eeco managed to stay in the green, the company’s small car brigade saw a decline of 2.6 percent, selling 61,048 units as compared to 62,679 cars in May 2010. Domestic sales grew by 4 percent, though exports took a hit by 13 percent.
Hyundai Motors too had a low-key month with sales rising by 2 percent in May 2011. The company however had a reason to cheer as it managed to clock 12,000 bookings of its recently launched Verna saloon in both petrol and diesel engine options with 10 variants to choose from. The domestic sales stood at 47,766 units, up by 14.6 percent as compared to May 2010. The exports however dropped by 15 percent.
Tata Motors saw a dip in sales, selling 19,401 units in May 2011 as compared to 21,324 units last year. Sales of the Nano stood at 6,515 units, a jump by 84 percent over May last year. But compare it with April 2011 figures (10,012 units) and it suggests that even the people’s car has taken a hit due to the hike in the petrol prices. The Indica and the Indigo range of cars saw a drop in sales by 35 percent. Launch of the Venture helped Tata Motors post 15 percent higher sales numbers in the SUV/MPV segment.
Mahindra & Mahindra reported a 20 percent jump in its total sales in May, selling 34,323 units as against 28,488 in the same month last year. The Verito (ex-Logan) registered a growth of 185 percent, selling 1291 units as compared 450 cars in May last year.
General Motors too posted a marginal growth of 1.3 percent in May, selling 8,225 cars. Ford India on the other hand reported a decline in sales by over 12 percent, managing to sell only 8,080 units in May.
Volkswagen India sold 6158 cars in May this year as compared to 1796 vehicles in May 2010, a growth of over 240 percent. This jump was provided by good sales figures of the Polo and the Vento with a combined sale of 5889 units. The Vento in particular, with its petrol and diesel engine options, has managed to out sell the segment leader Honda City, who lacks a diesel unit. The recently launched Passat too saw an impressive response, selling 184 units.
Skoda Auto too posted a growth of 100 percent, selling 2761 units in May 2011 as compared to 1381 units last year. The Micra continues to drive Nissan’s sales figures into the green, selling 1588 units in May 2011. However, the hatchback hasn’t been able to clock the numbers anticipated post launch of the diesel variants.
Toyota Kirloskar reported a jump of 24 percent; selling 7,470 units, while sales numbers for Honda dipped by 43 percent, selling 2,334 units. This slump was mainly due to the shortage of critical parts from Japan for its City and Jazz models. Also the City, which lead the C-segment for many years now, has seen a dip in sales due to the lack of a diesel engine option offered by its rivals.