Carmakers bring in the year with robust sales

The passenger vehicle segment has begun the year on a positive note with 5 automakers out of the top 6 registering growth in January sales. While the top-two carmakers – Maruti and Hyundai – have posted single-digit growth, three others have witnessed a strong double-digit uptick with Tata Motors posting the highest percentage increase, at 55 percent. Honda, on the other hand, saw a 5 percent drop in sales.

Maruti Suzuki

The compact segment with products like the Swift and the Dzire recorded 67,868 units in sales – a healthy 21.6 percent growth. However, the overall growth for Maruti stood at a modest 4.1 percent at 1,39,189 units. The sales of the mini segment including the Alto and the WagonR were down 12.2 percent at 33,316 units; even the sales its mid-size sedan, the Ciaz has witnessed a slump of 22.5 percent as only 5,062 units were sold. Sales of its vans were also down by 13.6 percent.

Hyundai

Sales of India’s second-largest carmaker, Hyundai, were up 8.3 percent at 45,508 units with Grand i10, Elite i20 and Creta being steady performers. Commenting on the growth, Rakesh Srivastava, Sales and Marketing Head of the company said, “2018 has started on a positive note and promises progressive growth for the industry, led by stable microeconomic factors that improve customers' buying potential.”

Mahindra

UV major, Mahindra & Mahindra have made a comeback in January as the sales grew by 17 percent at 23,686 units, in January. The Utility Vehicle segment of the company was up by 16 percent at 22,235 units whereas the car segment grew by 55 percent at 1,451 units.

Tata Motors

Tata Motors has begun the year with an impressive growth of 55 percent at 20,055 units. With the Nexon and Hexa, the UV segment gained visible traction, recording 188 percent growth; the Tiago and Tigor recorded a growth of 27 percent, together.

Toyota

Japanese carmaker, Toyota has started the year registering a growth of 19 percent at 12,351 units, led by strong demand for its UVs – Innova and Fortuner. The growth was also complemented by the Corolla, which remains the segment bestseller.

Honda

Among the top six carmakers, Honda is the only company whose volumes went down. The company recorded a fall of 5 percent at 14,838 units, in January. The bestselling model for the Japanese carmaker was the WR-V, selling 4,273 units followed by the 3,968 units of the City.