New launches outshone older models in May even though overall car sales remained subdued.
Strong sales of new launches like the Renault Duster, Honda Amaze and the Chevrolet Enjoy helped push volumes of the manufacturer concerned for the month.
But wholesale dispatches of most manufacturers were in the negative zone, including those of market leader Maruti Suzuki, which logged a 13% decline in the domestic market at 77,821 units.
Maruti saw sales decline in almost every segment, including its top-selling Swift and the DZire, which saw degrowth of 29.4% and 2.5%, respectively. Its utility vehicle (UV) segment saw a degrowth of 44%, though the mini segment, mainly comprising petrol cars, saw a growth of 5%.
Domestic sales for Hyundai Motor India, the second-largest carmaker, were up a mere 0.3%.
Incremental sales for some manufacturers came from new launches.
Honda Cars India sold 6,036 units of the Amaze, while its overall sales grew 9.8% as it sold 11,342 units during the month.
General Motors India saw sales grow 40%, backed by the launch of its new multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) the Chevrolet Enjoy. The company sold 2,177 units of the Enjoy.
“We were able to register the 40% growth only because of the good response to our newly launched vehicles Sail and Enjoy. Economic activities have almost come to a standstill and the market remains completely depressed due to negative sentiments and other structural bottlenecks. There is no showroom traffic and the enquiry levels have bottomed out despite innovative marketing schemes,” said P Balendran, vice-president, GM India.
Similarly, the Duster, a compact sport utility vehicle, helped Renault India maintain healthy volumes with sales of 5,146 units (up from 482 units a year ago), out of the overall 6,300 units it sold in May.
For Mahindra & Mahindra, the passenger vehicles segment registered a growth of 5% in May.
Sales of Toyota Kirloskar Motor declined 35%.
Tata Motors sold 45% fewer cars at 11,134 units. Two-wheeler sales, too, were in the slow lane. Sales of TVS Motor were down nearly 8% at 1,40,046 units. However, Yamaha India logged a 30% growth in sales, while for Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, the growth was just 3%.
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