Base effect, duty fears lift Motown

The achievement of two important milestones amidst all-round sales growth made it a February to remember this year. Growth was seen in every vehicle segment though in some segments, such as medium and heavy commercial vehicles, sales continued to lag 2006-07 levels.

Overall domestic sales growth during February was almost 35% at 11,29,783 units (8,37,017 units), the highest ever for a single month. The previous peak of 11,14,157 units was set in January.
Overall exports were up almost 50% to 1,65,241 units (1,10,252 units).

Overall passenger car sales in the domestic market crossed the 1.5 lakh unit mark at 1,53,845 units (1,15,505 units). Exports also showed a healthy growth at 36,267 units (26,063 units).

For the April-February period, passenger vehicle production crossed the two-million-unit mark even as two-wheeler sales neared 10 million.

The all-round sales spurt was largely on account of the low base of last year when the economy was in a slowdown. Also, consumers rushed to buy cars in anticipation of a hike in prices post-budget.

In passenger cars, production, domestic sales and exports all registered robust growth despite pockets of discontent.

Like in many previous months, not a single unit of the Skoda Fabia was produced this February though domestic sales of the car stood at 673 units. The combined production of Ford Ikon, Fusion and Fiesta was down to 2,055 units (2,516 units); combined production of Hyundai Accent and Verna was down to 4,030 units (4,660 units); and the Mahindra Renault Logan was down to just 518 units (1,130 units).

In the luxury segment, production of BMW 3-series was down marginally to 166 units (168 units), though combined production of the 5 and 6 series fell by a bigger margin to 48 units (62 units). Fiat Linea was down to 940 units (1,335 units), while Hyundai Sonata fell to 26 units (70 units).

Lower production compared with the year-ago period could mean higher-than-expected inventory levels in some cases and a drying up of demand in some others.

In two-wheelers, overall growth was pretty healthy with more than two lakh bikes and scooters being added to domestic sales in a single month. Domestic sales stood at 8,37,653 units (630,838 units), whereas exports were 1,04,395 units (72,510 units).

Bajaj Auto continued to lead the recovery, posting an almost five-fold growth in the entry level bike category of 75-125 cc with 1,00,046 units (22,464 units). Even in the 125-250 cc category, it registered growth at 75,679 units (68,009 units).

With the entry of HMSI in the entry level bike segment, combined sales of Hero Honda Motors and HMSI stood at 3,33,508 units, which means seven out of every 10 entry level bikes sold in India now carry the Honda badge. But in the same month last year, Honda’s entry level share was much higher at over 84%. Bike exports scripted another success story, crossing the one lakh unit mark at 1,04,395 units (72,510 units). For the April-February period, bike exports crossed the crucial one-million-unit mark to close at 10,42,789 units (9,34,653 units).

In commercial vehicles, overall growth continued to be robust and production more than doubled to 61,062 units (30,709 units). Domestic sales stood at 58,024 units (31,011 units), whereas exports were 4,320 units (2,017 units).