New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) The Indian automobile industry Saturday showed good sales figures for September despite rising fuel prices, high interest rates and bleak global sentiment.
One of the largest automobile manufacturers in the country, Hyundai Motors India, reported an increase of 12.4 percent in its sales for September 2011 at 57,808 units as against 51,444 units in the like period of last fiscal.
According to the company, its domestic sales grew by 13.2 percent in the month under review, while the exports grew by 11 percent.
Segment-wise, sales were led by its the entry-level compact car A2 (including Santro, i10 and i20), which stood at 49,552 units followed by sedans (Accent, Verna) at 8,051 units.
‘We will launch our much awaited compact car Eon this month. In spite of a sluggish market, we expect Eon to boost our sales and increase market share,’ the company’s director (marketing and sales) Arvind Saxena said.
Reporting robust sales for the month with stellar figures was Tata Motors, whose overall sales, including exports, grew by 22 percent at 78,786 units as compared to 64,668 units in last September.
According to the company, its domestic sales, including commercial and passenger vehicles for the month under review, grew by 22 percent at 72,566 units as compared to 59,611 units sold in the same month of last year.
It also reported a sales increase of six percent for its passenger car segment, including distribution offtake of Fiat cars that stood at 27,137 (26,319 Tata, 818 Fiat) in the domestic market as compared to 25,527 in the same period of 2010.
Entry-level compact car Nano, however, reported a 47 percent decline in its sales for September at 2,936 units.
In terms of exports, the company registered an increase of 23 percent at 6,220 units in the month under review, from 5,057 units in September 2010.
Automobile sector leader in terms of sales, Maruti Suzuki, reported a sales decline of 20.8 percent due to labour issues. Its sales for the month stood at 85,565 units as against 108,006 units in the same period of last fiscal.
According to the company, the disruption in its production facility in Manesar, Haryana, due to labour issues severely impacted sales and distribution.
The plant manufactures Swift, SX4 and A-Star cars.
Segment-wise, the company reported a decline of 23.5 percent in its best-selling compact class brands such as Alto, A-Star and WagonR, with the total sales at 37,324 as against 48,780 in the same period of 2009-10.
Powered by sales of its entry-level hatchback and sedan Etios and Etios Liva, Japanese automobile major Toyota reported an increase of 105 percent in its sales for September, which stood at 12,807 units as compared to 6,235 units in the like period of 2010.
‘This growth can be attributed to the sales of Etios and Etios Liva clocking a total of 5,926 units,’ said Sandeep Singh, deputy managing director (marketing) of Toyota Kirloskar Motors, adding that other flagship brands such as Innova, Fortuner and Corolla also contributed to the sales growth.
General Motors India also reported good sales figures, with an increase of 17.35 percent in sales at 10,112 units sold during September as against 8,617 units during the same period of the previous financial year.
‘The growth was primarily driven by the recently launched most fuel efficient vehicle Chevrolet Beat Diesel,’ the company’s vice president P. Balendran said.
