Auto Industry Regaining Momentum
2- Wheeler Sales Driving the Bulk of Industry Growth

The month of May has brought a little relief to the auto industry. The month saw a growth of 11.13% in the passenger cars & UV segment. The commercial vehicle sales, which were in negative terrain the previous month, revived its sales with marginal growth of 4.53%. Two-wheeler sales, a key contributor to the industry growth, grew by an impressive 22.23% in May'05. Cumulative sales of all the segments in May'05 grew by 19.78% over May'04.

Hyundai Motor India's growth spurt in the fiscal year 2005-06 continued in the month of May, with the company posting over 103% growth in the domestic market in the first two months of this fiscal, over same period in 2004.

In the month of May'05, HMI sold 14,001 vehicles in the domestic market, an 80.9% increase in sales over May'04.

Cumulative sales (domestic & exports) for the month of May stood at 23,206 vehicles, clocking a growth of 82.55% over May'04. May Sales include 11,072 units of Santro & Getz, 2,547 units of Accent, 224 units of Elantra, 32 units of Sonata and 126 units of Terracan & Tuscan.

HMI Exports too maintained a high rate of growth in May and achieved an 85% increase over May'04. Exports for the month were: 9,205 cars.

Car market leader Maruti Udyog Ltd sold 40,006 vehicles in the domestic market in May'05. The company had sold 38,041 vehicles in the domestic market in May'04. In all, Maruti Udyog Ltd sold 42,286 vehicles in May'05. This includes 2,280 units of exports.

Maruti's volume in the domestic A2 segment (Zen, WagonR, Alto and Swift) at 26,030 units grew by 23%. (This includes 2,981 units of Maruti's latest model, Swift, despatched during May'05). In the A3 segment (Esteem and Baleno) (2,236 units), sales grew by 48 per cent during the month compared to sales in May'04. While sales of Omni and Versa grew by 8%, sales of Maruti 800 slipped by 39%. The price of Maruti 800 has been slashed by Rs. 16,000/- for both its standard and AC Models, hoping to revive some upward movement in the sales graph.

General Motors India registered a 64 per cent growth in May'05 as compared to last year as Chevrolet Tavera sold 1,610 units in May to take its tally to 16,659 mark within a year of its mid-2004 launch.

The global auto major sold 2,503 cars in May as against 1,527 cars in the same month last year to record a growth of 63.92% in monthly sales. Besides Tavera, these included 615 Chevrolet Optra, 274 Opel Corsa and four units of imported Forester SUV.

Honda Siel Cars India Ltd (HSCI), the leading manufacturer of premium and luxury cars in the Indian automobile industry, recorded an impressive jump in sales volume during the month of May'05, registering a 37.81 % growth. The company sold 3,514 units during the month as against 2,549 units sold during the same month of the previous financial year.

 
Mahindra & Mahindra recorded an 11% rise in total sales with sale of 10,587 units (345 units of exports) in May'05 as against 9,524 units (64 units of exports) in May'04.

Tata Motors reported total sale of 30,589 vehicles (including exports) for the month of May'05, an increase of 2.74%, as against 29,774 vehicles sold in May'04.

The passenger vehicle business represented a growth of 1.98% selling 14,005 units in May'05 as against 13,732 units sold in May'04 in the domestic market.

In May'05, Indica registered a sale of 8,480 units (8,463 units in May'04), while the Indigo registered a sale of 3,031 units (3,024 units in May'04). The Sumo and the Safari accounted for sales of 2,494 units (2,245 units in May'04) in the month.

Total sales of commercial vehicles were 15,387 units in May'05, of which 13,333 units were in the domestic market and 2,054 units were in the export market. Domestic M&HCV sales at 7,171 vehicles saw a decline of 28.65% while LCV sales at 6,162 vehicles grew by a healthy 41.98% for May'05. Shortage of certain critical items continued in May'05 and the company is working closely with the suppliers to improve the situation.

The new mini-truck Tata ACE was introduced in the month of May'05. Initially available across the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Pondicherry, the ACE has evoked an enthusiastic response in these markets.

The Company exported 3,251 vehicles in May'05, an increase of 96.9% over 1,651 vehicles in May'04.

Ashok Leyland sold 4,655 units in May'05, a growth of 19.2% as compared to 3,905 units sold in May'04. Sales include 828 units of MDVs (passenger), 3,798 units of MDVs (goods) and 29 units of LCVs.

Eicher Motors with sale of 1,613 commercial vehicle units (123 units of exports) in May'05 over 1,216 units (78 units of exports) in May'04 witnessed a 32.64% growth.

Bajaj Auto continued to beat industry growth rate for the eighth successive month. Bajaj recorded its highest ever motorcycle market share (31.8%) in May'05. In May'05, Bajaj motorcycle sales at 1,53,975 units grew by 76%. While the total 2-wheeler sales at 1,62,753 units (1,01,022 units in May'04) jumped by a whooping 61 % in May'05, 3-wheelers sales at 15,892 units (16,178 units in May'04) saw a dip of 2%.

Cumulative volumes of the Bajaj CT 100 are set to reach the 1 million mark in a short span of just over 12 months.

The Bajaj Discover is gaining ground steadily with a cumulative volume of almost 2,00,000 units since launch in Sep'04. Month-on-month growth of 10% recorded in May'05 over Apr'05 augurs well for this product.

The Bajaj Pulsar DTSi twins steamed ahead with sale of 30,312 units in May'05, a growth of 37% over May'04 volumes of 22,178 units. They are now joined by the Bajaj Avenger, which will be available at exclusive Bajaj Probiking dealerships across the nation from 11th Jun'05 onwards, at an attractive ex-showroom price of approximately Rs. 60,000/-.

Hero Honda, the 'World No.1' two-wheeler company, sold 2,26,072 units in May'05 as .compared to 2,12,177 units in May'04, registering a 6.54% growth. The impressive sales figure was achieved despite some supply constraints. With the huge demand for Hero Honda bikes in the market and supplies now back to normal, sales are set to get a boost in June.

TVS Motor Company's total two wheeler sales in May'05 stood at 106,914 units compared to 80,895 units, during the same period last year, recording a growth of 32%.

The major thrust to the overall increase in two wheelers came from the 47% growth recorded by the motorcycles, which clocked 63,585 units in May'05 compared to 43,180 units recorded during the same period last year.

TVS StaR continued to receive excellent market response and has crossed the one hundred thousand mark since its launch. The company continues to ramp up its production to meet the increasing market demand. The 'Victor' brand namely the GLX 125 and GX 110 models too have shown encouraging demand.

The Scooterette sales achieved a growth of 18% clocking 20,454 units in May'05 compared to 17,321 units recorded last year. The TVS Scooty brand continues to be the market leader in the scooterette sub 100cc segment.

Moped sales stood at 22,875 units in May'05 compared to 20,394 units in the same period last year with a growth of 12%. The company continues to enjoy market leadership and has been consistently performing well compared to the industry.

On the export front, TVS Motor Company exported highest ever 6,354 units in May'05 recording a growth of 59% compared to the same period last year.

The sale figures of motor vehicles during the month of May'05 suggest that the industry is recovering from somewhat lacklustre performance in April'05 and is starting to move up the ladder.