The Hindu Business Line : Car sales speed up in Feb, bikes slow down

Carmakers in the country improved their sales volumes last month while the two-wheeler manufacturers continued to face downtrend in the domestic market, going by the sales figures for February. The car market leader Maruti Suzuki’s total sales rose by just one per cent while the second largest carmaker, Hyundai, showed a 15.9 per cent growth in sales.

General Motors’ sales went up by 80 per cent and Honda’s sales improved by 21 per cent. SUV major Mahindra & Mahindra registered a 43 per cent surge in sales in the last month.

According to the official release from Maruti Suzuki, the total number of vehicles it sold in February is 63,822 against 62,999 in the year-ago period.

The company’s domestic sales is almost flat at 59,311 against 59,095 in the same period last year while export went up by 15 per cent at 4,511 (3,904). Sales of M800 slipped by 3.5 per cent to 5,747 from 5,955.

The sales volume of the company’s compact car segment, including Alto, Estillo, Wagon R and Swift, went up by 2.7 per cent at 44,059 (42,913). In Maruti’s A3 segment, that includes SX4, Esteem and Baleno, the domestic volume grew by 8.9 per cent, compared to sales in February 2007.

Hyundai exports

Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), the country’s second largest car manufacturer, said the company registered a 15.9 per cent growth in February, as it recorded a 50.5 per cent increase in exports. The overall sales stood at 29,001 units against 25,026 units in the year ago period.

For Hyundai, the decline in the domestic market (from 15,459 to 14,600) was compensated by buoyant exports. The company exported 14,401 units against 9,567 units in February 2007.

Total sales of Mahindra & Mahindra, including exports grew by 43 per cent in February, numbering 19,675 against 13,747 in the corresponding month last year, said a company release here. The surge in sales is mainly on account of good performance by Scorpio, which sold 3,909 last month against 2,637 in the corresponding period last year, and exports at 1,295 units (480). Mahindra Renault sold 2,751 units of Logan in the month of February.

Chevrolet’s spark

General Motors India recorded an 80 per cent growth in sales by selling 5,563 units last month as against 3,087 units in the same period last year. The huge rise in numbers is triggered by the sales of Chevrolet Spark, the compact car from the GM stable. The company sold 2,229 units of Chevrolet Spark in February, according to a company release.

Premium car manufacturers Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) sold 3,774 units in February 2008 as against 3,521 units sold during the same month the previous year, posting a growth of 7.2 per cent.

The two-wheeler makers including the market leader Hero Honda showed a decline in sales. The company sold 2,65,431 units in February, a 5.3 per cent decline when compared to 2,80,515 units it sold in the year-ago period.

The total two-wheeler sales of Bajaj went down by 8 per cent at 1,59,508 in February as against 1,74,220 in the same period last year.

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