Auto sales spring a pleasant surprise during January

Belying expectations of a slowdown after the roaring 32% growth seen in 2010, automobile sales have started the year with a bang, with most players recording significant growth in January.

Sales of passenger car market leader Maruti Suzuki were back on track after a slight slump seen in December. The company recorded a growth of nearly 15% year on year at 109,743 vehicles, including exports. With this, it has crossed the 1 million sales mark in under 10 months this fiscal, at 1,037,408 units.

Tata Motors’ passenger vehicles division recorded total sales of 32,386 units (30,212 Tata + 2,174 Fiat) in the domestic market in January, up 14%. The company sold 68% more Nanos year on year at 6,703 units, but still trailed expectations.

“We had expected Nano sales to cross 7,000 units. However, the number should go up going ahead,” said an analyst from PINC Research.

Mahindra and Mahindra’s passenger vehicles segment (which includes utility vehicles as well as the Logan) recorded a growth of 15%, selling 17,208 units.

“All our brands have done well, with Logan having clocked a sale of 1,120 units, which is the highest during the last 28 months. With the launch of Genio, we hope to further consolidate our position in the pick-up segment,” Rajesh Jejurikar, chief executive, automotive division, Mahindra & Mahindra said

Hyundai Motors recorded a marginal growth as sales grew 2.4%. Honda Siel Cars India grew 6.3% with sales of 6,358 units.

Volkswagen sold 5,601 vehicles in January as against just 383 units in the year-ago month, riding on sales of Polo and Vento models.

“We look forward to further strengthening the position of both our volume models in the coming months and ensure a good growth rate of our premium models in the market,” Neeraj Garg, member of board and director, Volkswagen passenger cars said.

Riding high on Figo’s success, Ford India has also managed to post record sales of 10,026 units as against 2,453 units sold in January last year.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s sales were up 53% year on year at 9,185 units, including 1,651 units of the newly launched Etios.

The momentum continued in the two-wheeler space as well. 

The country’s largest two-wheeler maker, Hero Honda, reported sales of 466,524 units, registering a jump of 19.68% yea on year.

“This has provided an excellent start to the new year and also helped continue the sales momentum of the last calendar year,” Hero Honda Motors senior vice-president (marketing and sales) Anil Dua said. Domestic sales of TVS Motors marked a growth of 30% with sales of 142,227 units in January. “Car sales are very much on line. However, two-wheeler sales have been below expectation on a sequential basis,” said Chirag Jain, analyst for B&K Securities.