Car sales a mixed bag in May 2014

Domestic passenger car sales for May 2014 show a mixed trend for the top three carmakers in India. While India's largest manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki, and second ranked Hyundai Motor India, saw increases in their respective numbers by 16 percent and 12 percent, Mahindra & Mahindra suffered an 18 percent dip in its May sales.

Owing to the City sedan's popularity, Honda Cars India has been able to post a significant increase in sales. Tata Motors are looking at mixed numbers, with sales figures dropping 17 percent as compared to May 2013 but an increase over the April 2014 sales of around 7,000-odd units. The company completes a year, this June, of its Horizonext initiative. Ford's hugely successful Ford EcoSport saw its numbers grow over 51 percent while Toyota did well to register an 18 percent sales rise despite facing labour issues a few months back. GM, on the other hand, saw a 42 percent drop. 

New products seem to have outshone their older counterparts, with Hyundai's Grand i10 and the Xcent grabbing a lot of buyer attention.

Here's a glimpse of how some of India's major carmakers performed across the last month.

Maruti

Maruti Suzuki, that opened the FY 2014-15 with a 12.6 percent sales decline in April, saw its May 2014 numbers up 16.4 percent to 90,560 units as against 77,821 units in May 2013. The company’s A-segment offerings (Alto and Wagon R) saw a 7.5 percent dip to 29,068 units (May 2013: 31,427). The compact car segment (Celerio and Swift) saw a 53.9 percent increase to 26,394 units (May 2013: 17,147). The Celerio clearly is giving Maruti's sales a boost. It was launched at the Auto Expo this year on February 6 and has sold 21,948 units till the end of April. The company, at present, has 45,000 bookings for the car and the waiting period has come down from around eight/nine months to seven months now. The Dzire saw a 9.8 percent increase in its sales to 18,953 units (May 2013: 17,265). Meanwhile, the SX4 sold just 121 units, down 75.9 percent from 503 units in May 2013. In the UV segment, Maruti sales were up 22 percent as a result of the Ertiga which retails about 4,000-odd units a month. The segment overall (along with the Gypsy and Grand Vitara) sold 5,253 units in May 2014 (May 2013: 4,307). The van segment (Omni and Eeco) accounted for 10,771 units, up 50.2 percent (May 2013: 7,172). On the export front, sales rose 51.2 percent to 10,365 units as against 6,856 units in May 2013.

Hyundai

Hyundai Motors sold 36,205 cars in May 2014, recording a growth of 12.8 percent (May 2013: 32,102).  Commenting on last month’s sales, Rakesh Srivastava, senior VP, sales and marketing, said, “The success of the Xcent, Grand i10 and Santa Fe increased volumes, creating positive momentum. We foresee to maintain this positive trend by strengthening our product portfolio and improving channel efficiencies.”

Mahindra

Mahindra continues to feel the pressure of the market slowdown across all the vehicle segments it is engaged in. In the passenger vehicle segment, in May 2014, the manufacturer has reported sales of 18,085 units comprising utility vehicles and the Verito and Verito Vibe, down 18.7 percent (May 2013: 22,244 units). Its overall domestic sales including passenger vehicles, commercial four-wheelers, three-wheelers and trucks and buses were 35,499 units (May 2013:  42,104), down 15.69 percent. It sold 12,836 commercial four-wheelers last month, down 13.55 percent (May 2013: 14,848) and 3,732 three-wheelers, down 7.35 percent (May 2013: 4,028). Mahindra Trucks & Buses sold 846 vehicles in May 2014, down 14.02 percent (May 2013: 984). The sole positive for the month was in exports where the company shipped 2,370 units (May 2013: 1,356), up 75 percent. Commenting on the sales, Pravin Shah, chief executive, automotive division, said, "Auto sales continue to remain subdued at the back of yet another challenging month for the industry. After the electoral mandate, we expect to see improved sentiments resulting in a better economic situation which we hope will lead to a gradual increase in demand.”