Stagnant Sales in December

The auto Industry witnessed a paltry 3.67% growth in the month of December 2005. Domestic sales of Commercial Vehicles dropped by 5.98% in Dec'05. Passenger cars & UVs, Three-wheelers and Two-wheelers, however, grew at a lower rate of 7.24%, 13.49% and 1.74% respectively.

Maruti Udyog Limited sold 43,251 units in the domestic market in December 2005. Reflecting a growth of 16.4% over December 2004, this is the highest ever number in any December month in the company's history. In all, the company sold 46,079 units, including 2,828 units of exports, during December 2005.

While the company's volume in the domestic A2 segment (Alto, Wagon-R, Zen, Swift) grew by 36.6% compared to December 2004, all other segments i.e. A1 (M800), A3 (Baleno, Esteem) and C (Omni, Versa) were in the negative terrain.

Hyundai Motor India's total sales for the month fell by 20% as compared to Dec'04. The company sold 15,973 units in Dec'05. The segment-wise cumulative sales in the month of December 2005 are: A2 Segment - 14,766 units, A3 Segment - 1,118 units, A4 Segment - 45 units, A5 segment - 6 units, SUV Segment - 38 units.

However, HMI registered a combined sale of 2,52,851 vehicles in CY 2005, an increase of 17.26 % over the year 2004. In the domestic market, the company clocked a growth of 11.83 % with 1,56,291 units. The overseas sales at 96,560 units grew by 27.2% as compared to the year 2004.

The year 2005 has been a significant year for Hyundai Motor India Limited. It achieved a significant milestone by rolling out the fastest 2,00,000th export car. Hyundai exports to around 60 countries globally and recently made a foray into the highly competitive UK market by exporting its first shipment of 820 cars.


General Motors India sold 2,163 cars in Dec'05 as against 2,403 cars in the same month last year to record a decline of 10%. The December sales included 462 units of Chevrolet Optra, 1603 units of Chevrolet Tavera and 97 units of Opel Corsa.

In 2005, the company sold a total of 30,837 cars as against 26,166 cars in the previous year to clock 18% growth in annual sales, while overall passenger car growth during the year was around 5%. These included 7,282 Chevy Optras in Entry 'D' Luxury sedan segment, 4,883 Opel Corsas and 18,622 units of the multi-utility vehicle (MUV) - Chevrolet Tavera.

To make 2006 an even more eventful year, GMI is working on several programs that will enable the launch of new models and exciting marketing events. The company has set a target of 50,000 units in 2006.

Gearing up for increased production, General Motors India's Halol facility in Gujarat is undergoing major expansion to further increase its capacity to 85,000 units in 2006 to provide world-class vehicles made in India to the discerning Indian consumer.

Honda Siel Cars India Ltd (HSCI) posted a whopping 58% growth in the month of Dec'05 over Dec'04. A total of 4,113 units of cars were sold during the month. The flagship model, Honda City, continued its dream run in the month of December, with a tally of 3,766 units - a 71 % growth over the corresponding month in 2004.

The year 2005 was also significant for the company. HSCI rounded off the year 2005 with yet another milestone, crossing the 40,000 mark during the CY. With a total tally of 40,535 units in 2005, HSCI achieved an overall growth of 15% in the year over CY 2004. The company achieved two major targets simultaneously. One, HSCl launched the new City ZX in October and two, completed major expansion to ramp up the production capacity, with an investment of Rs. 150 crores, in December.

Mahindra & Mahindra's sales at 10,635 units (including 517 units of exports) in Dec'05 saw a 6% dip in sales volume from 11,304 units (including 343 units of exports) in Dec'04.

Tata Motors reported a total sale of 35,598 vehicles (including exports) for the month of Dec'05, a growth of 11.4% over 31,951 vehicles sold in December last year.

The passenger vehicle business achieved domestic sales of 13,037 vehicles, up 35.4% over Dec'04 sales. The Indica sold 6,977 units, an increase of 40% over Dec'04. The Indigo family registered sales of 2,753 units, registering a growth of 29% over Dec'04. The Sumo and Safari accounted for sales of 3,307 units, an increase of 32% over Dec'04. The company's retail sales at around 24,000 units in Dec'05 was the highest ever in any month. Its retail promotion scheme of 'Drive Away A Millionaire' on the occasion of the 1-million sales milestone being crossed earlier in October met with a stupendous response-across the country.

The company's sales of commercial vehicles in Dec'05 in the domestic market were 18,730 units, an improvement of 1.4% over 18,467 vehicles sold in Dec'04. M&HCV sales stood at 11,110 nos, while LCV sales were 7,620 units.

The company's sales from exports were 3,831 vehicles in Dec'05 as compared to 3,857 vehicles in Dec'04, a decrease of 0.7%.

Ashok Leyland in Dec'05 sold 4,544 vehicles (includes 877 units of exports) as against 5,126 units (includes 622 units of exports) sold in Dec'04. While exports are up 41 %, domestic volumes are lower by 18%.

Eicher Motors sold 2,277 units (includes 152 units of exports) in Dec'05, a mere 1.5% growth over 2,243 units (includes 158 units of exports) sold in Dec'04.

Hero Honda sales of 24,5104 units translated into an increase of 6% over 23,0751 units sold in Dec'04. Hero Honda has retained the coveted position of 'World No.1' for five years in a row by selling record number of motorcycles during the calendar year 2005. As a corollary to this milestone, the company has further consolidated its leadership position in the Indian two-wheeler industry.

Hero Honda sold a total of over 29 lakh motorcycles during the calendar year 2005, a big jump from 13,00,899 motorcycles sold in 2001 - the year Hero Honda took over as the world leader for the first time. Over the past five years, the company's sales have escalated 123%, reflecting the company's superb performance. In the process, the company has also outdone its own record of 25,28,699 motorcycles, set in the calendar year 2004.

The company had introduced three new motorcycle models during the year - Super Splendor, Glamour and Achiever. 2005 also marked Hero Honda's much-awaited entry into the scooter segment. The company introduced its first scooter model - Pleasure to the Indian customers. The model will be available in the market shortly.

Despite increasing competition in the two-wheeler market and rising input costs, the company has continued to demonstrate consistent performance over the past five years.

Bajaj Auto’s total two & three wheeler sales growth was 3%, with tally of 1,73,479 units in Dec05 as against 1,68,806 units in the same month previous year. Two-wheeler sales virtually remained stagnant. Bajaj Motorcycle and 2-wheeler market shares have increased from 27.5% and 24.2% in April December 2004 to estimated 30.2% and 26.5% respectively in April-December 2005.

Bajaj expects to stabilize motorcycle volumes at 200,000 units per month during January-March 2006. Towards this end, Bajaj is launching an all-new motorcycle in the value segment during this quarter.

TVS Motor Co continued is two-wheeler growth trend by raking 107,412 units compared to 96,886 units in the same month last year and registering a healthy growth of 11 %.

The motorcycle sales climbed up by 8%, selling 68,724 units in Dec'05 compared to 63,496 units sold in Dec'04.

During the month, the company achieved a new milestone with the launch of its new 150cc motorcycle, TVS Apache. This stylish and performance driven motorcycle has already won good reviews from several two-wheeler experts. Apache will be available in key markets in Feb'05. TVS StaR continued to receive good response across all markets and has enabled the company to make significant inroads in the economy segment of the motorcycle market.

In scooters, TVS Scooty recorded 16,051 units in December 2005 compared to 14,866 recorded a year ago, clocking a growth of 8%.

TVS Moped clocked 22,637 units in Dec'05 vis-à-vis 18,524 units in Dec'04, representing an impressive growth of 22%. The company continues to maintain its market leadership in mopeds.

On the export front, TVS Motor Company continued its good performance having exported 6,069 units in December 2005, recording a growth of 41 % compared to the same period last year.

With a number of new players set to enter the two-wheeler, passenger car and commercial vehicle segments, the market is expected to witness a no-holds-barred competition in the year 2006.