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Despite festive October, car sales stay slow

But new models buck the trend.

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It seems to be a slow Diwali for car makers, as most of them registered decline in sales in October.

According to wholesale despatch numbers provided by automakers, top players like Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Tata Motors saw volumes decline in October compared with the same month last year, while Honda Cars India and Ford India, which lined up new models, witnessed strong growth.

Maruti Suzuki, the biggest car maker, saw domestic car sales decline 1% last month.

Company’s car portfolio includes its bestsellers like Alto, Dzire and Swift. Sales of Dzire grew 19% during the month, while most of the other segments remained in negative. Its overall passenger vehicle sales, which include multi-purpose vehicle and van segments, grew marginally, by 0.1%, to 96062 units last month. 

For the second largest company, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), domestic sales were up at 36,002 units in October from 35,778 units in October 2012.

“In this challenging market environment, sales have increased by 17% over last month on account of good monsoon, festival buying and strong sales of 11,519 units of new model Grand, which made it to the top five volume sellers within two months of its launch,” said Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice-president, sales and marketing, HMIL.

M&M’s passenger vehicle sales declined 15% to 22,924 units in October 2013, as against 26,932 units during October 2012, while passenger vehicle sales of Tata Motors declined 33% yoy.

Pravin Shah, chief executive, automotive division, M&M, said, “In spite of new launches, the auto sector has witnessed a de-growth of nearly 5% during the first half of 2013-14 and the recent repo rate hike may prove to be a dampener for potential customers. The industry continues to look forward to an immediate support in terms of a stimulus package to perk it up as well as bring back the growth momentum for the economy in general & automotive sector in particular.”

Honda Cars India reported sales growth of 39% on the back of strong demand for its new launch – Amaze, while Ford India sold 21% more cars for the month, led by its newly launched – compact sports utility vehicle – EcoSport. Toyota Kirloskar Motor sales grew 7%.

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