Auto Market Switches Gear Auto sales during the month of August 2009 switched to the top gear after the cautious but optimistic start in the current financial year. Buoyant exports and brisk domestic sales helped auto industry post a healthy double-digit growth of 21.6%. Passenger vehicle segment clocked an impressive 25.30% growth (exports included) during the month of August, thanks to the robust sales volumes of Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors. While domestic market grew by 22.40%, exports rose by whopping 37.24% with significant contribution to export numbers coming from HMIL and MSIL. In addition to the booming exports, improving consumer sentiment and new launches & refreshed models, other major factors that contributed to the healthy August 2009 car sales were the increasing availability of car loans and softening of interest rates, resulting from the aggressive entry of public sector banks in the auto loan market. Two-wheeler sales, led by continuing spectacular performance of Hero Honda, also stayed on course with a decent growth of 21.64%; and so were 3-wheeler sales that rose by 18.47%. Commercial vehicles that had been witnessing wobbly sales for over a year and come back on track in July 2009 riding on the robust performance of LCVs, sustained their momentum clocking a growth of 10.8%. A notable feature of CV sales in August 2009 was that Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicle segment saw its sales numbers growing y-o-y for the first time in this year. Positive growth of M&HCVs is the reflection of the significant upswing in industrial production witnessed since June 2009. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, India's car market leader, sold a total of 84,808 vehicles in August 2009, growing 41.6 per cent y-o-y. This includes exports of 14,847 units, the highest ever-monthly export in the company's history. The company had sold a total of 59,908 vehicles in August 2008. A hefty increase in Maruti Suzuki's domestic sales numbers by 29.3% from 54,113 units to 69,961 units was contributed chiefly by the company's portfolio in A2 and A3 segments, which includes Alto, Swift, Wagon R, Estilo, A-Star, Swift, Ritz and D'zire. MSIL's volume in the domesticA2 segment grew by 39.3 per cent and in the A3 segment by 44.1 per cent during the month. During the month, Maruti Suzuki crossed the milestone of 50,000 cumulative exports in this fiscal. A-star is Maruti Suzuki's flagship export model. A-star, which was introduced internationally in January 2009, has been leading the export numbers since introduction. Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), the country's second largest car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter saw domestic sales outpace the growth in the overseas market for the first time in many months. While domestic sales went up by 12.9%, exports rose by 8.7%, resulting in the cumulative sales growth rate of 10.8%.   HMIL's total sales for August 2009 stood at 49,521 units (44,710 units in August 2008). The domestic sales accounted for 24,401 units (21,610 units), while the overseas sales grew from 23,100 units in August last year to 25,120 units in August 2009. Commenting on August 2009 sales Arvind Saxena, Sr Vice President - Marketing and Sales, HMIL said, "We are now entering the festival season phase and strong sales would help the Indian automotive industry to return to healthy growth. We do have a lot of expectations from the festival season and we expect it to be much better than the previous year." The segment-wise cumulative sales of HMIL during the month were as follows: A2 Segment (Santro, i10, Getz & i20) - 45,495 units; A3 Segment (Accent & Verna) - 3,979 units; A5 Segment (Sonata Transform) - 47 units; and SUV Segment (Tucson) - Nil. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M), a part of the US $6.3 billion Mahindra Group, registered 20,941 units of domestic auto sales for the month of August 2009, as against 16,857 units in August 2008, reflecting an increase of 24.2%. Domestic UV sales of M&M in August 2009, which include Scorpio, Xylo, Bolero and Pick-Ups, stood at 11,443 units compared to 7,700 units a year ago, which translates into a growth of 48.6%. Mahindra's YTD domestic sales aggregated 102,700 units in August 2009, rising by 20.8% over corresponding sales tally of 85,023 units for the same period last year. Total sales (including exports) of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles in August 2009 added up to 49,810 vehicles, up 14% over 43,600 vehicles sold in August 2008. Tata Motors' domestic sales of commercial and passenger vehicles for August 2009 stood at 47,126 units, a 21 % growth over corresponding sales figure of 38,828 units last year. The company's sales of commercial vehicles in August 2009 in the domestic market at 29,762 units recorded a 28% growth compared to 23,231 vehicles sold a year ago. LCV sales counted 18,644 units, a 42% growth y-o-y. M&HCV sales stood at 11,118 units, up 10% over August last year. This was the second consecutive month of growth for Tata M&HCVs. Passenger Vehicles Business Unit of Tata Motors reported a total sale of 17,512 units in the domestic market in August 2009, an 11% increase over 15,948 units in August last year. Sales of Tata cars, at 14,755 units, grew by 20.8%. The Tata Nano notched up sales of 2,501 units. The Indica range sales at 9,598 units registered a growth of 24% y-o-y. The Indigo range recorded sales of 2,656 units, chipping off 41 % from the domestic sales figure recorded a year ago. The UV/SUV range of Sumo/Safari/Xenon XT accounted for sales of 2,609 units, down 22% y-o-y. Tata Motors' exports at 2,684 vehicles in August 2009 were lower by 44% compared to 4,772 vehicles exported in August last year. The Y-T-D exports for the fiscal at 10,360 units were lower by 41 % from 17,627 units in the same period last year. Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) sold 4,102 units in the month of August'09 as against 3,945 units sold during the corresponding month last year, recording an increase of 4%. Model-wise sales break-up of HSCI for August 2009 was: Jazz - 1,029 units, City - 2536; Civic - 231 units; Accord-: 229 units; and CR-V - 77 units. Skoda Auto India posted a 33% growth, selling 1,463 units in domestic market during the month. Hero Honda Motors Ltd (HHML) continued to enjoy the dream run. The world's largest two-wheeler manufacturer sold 408,325 two-wheelers in domestic market, notching up a staggering y-o-y growth of 37.6% during the month of August 2009. HHML's exports, however, declined by 21.8% to 6,812 two-wheelers during the month from the export figure of 8,712 two-wheelers a year ago. Hero Honda is expected to cross 4-million units of sale during the current financial year, considering the blistering pace at which it is growing. Bolstered by a robust increase in domestic sales, TVS Motor Company continued its positive growth trend posting an 11% growth in August 2009. TVSM registered total two-wheeler sales of 126,842 units vis-à-vis 114,321 units in August 2008. The company has achieved a cumulative sales growth of 5% for the period April to August 2009 with cumulative growth of 10% in domestic sales. Domestic sales of TVS Motor surged by 20% to 115,095 units in August 2009 as against 96,238 units in August 2008, with motorcycles contributing 12% growth and scooters factoring in a growth of 20%. TVS Scooters accounted for 28,582 units of the total sales (including exports) in August 2009 against 25,392 units in August 2008, a 13% increase y-o-y. Total motorcycle sales (including exports) stood at 51,127 units in August 2009 compared to 52,304 units in August 2008. Exports at 11,747 units of two-wheelers during the month fell sharply from the export tally of 18,083 units in the same month previous year. India's second largest two-wheeler manufacturer - Bajaj Auto moved up the growth curve, recording a moderate 3.5% rise in its domestic sales The company sold 122,098 two-wheelers during August 2009 compared to 117,984 two-wheelers in August 2008. Bajaj Auto's 3-wheeler domestic sales at 15,810 units during the month clocked a staggering 33.2% growth. Other two-wheeler players, viz. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter, India Yamaha and Suzuki Motorcycle also recorded a double-digit growth. The period of doom and gloom is over and the consumer confidence is returning. With industrial production picking up and growing decently by 7.8% and 6.8% during June & July 2009, respectively, auto market is expected to remain buoyant during the remainder of the year. Upcoming festival season should add to the buoyancy and spur the market further.