Auto Sales: No Turnaround in Sight

While international community is gung-ho about the India's growth story, which has aroused interest all around, the domestic auto market has not been able to ward off the slowdown bug since the advent of the current financial year. December sales followed the pattern of previous 8 months of the year. While passenger cars managed to stay on course with a growth of 9% in domestic sales in December, 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers and CVs failed to break loose from the sluggish spell. Domestic sales of 2-wheelers were down by 8.3% and 3-wheelers by 18.3%. Thanks to continuing splendid performance of LCVs (especially sub 1-ton category vehicles), which clocked a growth of 11.3%, commercial vehicles, overall, ended up being marginally up by 1.4% in December 2007 compared to December 2006.

Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India Limited sold 58,401 vehicles in the domestic market in December 2007 growing by 7% over corresponding sales figure of 54,640 vehicles in the same month previous year. In all, Maruti Suzuki India sold 62,515 vehicles, including 4,114 units of exports in December 2007, which translates into a growth of roughly 10% y-o-y.

Maruti's domestic sales volume during the month in A2 segment went up by 2.9 per cent and in A3 by 54.7 per cent, compared to December 2006. C segment witnessed a sharp rise of 23.2 per cent.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), the country's second largest car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter, recorded an overall growth of 5.6% in December 2007 over the same month last year. On the domestic front, riding high on the newly launched i10, Hyundai Motor clocked an impressive growth of 18.2%. The total sales stood at 24,664 units. While the domestic market accounted for 13,078 units, exports totalled 11,586 units in December 2007. The cumulative sales for December, 2006 had been 23,355 units.

Commenting on the occasion, Arvind Saxena, Sr Vice-President - Marketing and Sales, HMIL said, "The year 2007 has been a significant year for Hyundai Motor India. We achieved a commendable landmark by rolling out the fastest 1,500,000th car, in the month of September 2007. Also, with a spate of new launches in the year 2007 right from Sonata CRDi, Getz Prime, Santro CNG, Sonata AT and finally the much awaited i10, Hyundai Motor was able to offer a variety of options to its ever-expanding consumer base. As a matter of fact, i10 was the first car from the Hyundai's stable that made its world debut here in India, which will also be the sole production and export hub for the car. Hyundai also expanded its dealer network across India to cater to its consumers in every part of the country,"

 
HMIL's segment-wise cumulative sales in the month of December 2007 are as follows: A 1 Segment - 22,510 units; A2 Segment - 2,117 units; A4 Segment - 28 units; and SUV Segment - 9 units.

Riding high on the launch of the Chevrolet Spark and other new models during 2007, General Motors India (GMI) witnessed a record growth of 144% in sales, clocking 6,309 units in December 2007 as against 2,583 units in December last year, making it the highest-ever monthly sales achieved by GM India since its inception. The December 2007 sales comprised of 2,179 units of the Chevrolet Tavera, 1,800 units of the Chevrolet Aveo, 822 units of the Chevrolet Optra and 1,508 units of the Chevrolet Spark.

With sales figure of 1,959 units in December 2007 as against 1,983 units in December 2006, Ford India continued to turn in a below-par performance in domestic market, even as its exports witnessed a steep fall of 50%.

Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI) sold 3,363 units in December 2007 as compared to 4,105 units in the same month previous year, sliding by 18%. Model-wise break-up for December 2007 is: City ZX - 2133; Civic - 995; Accord - 64; and CRV - 171.

Tata Motors remained in the negative terrain, reporting a total sale of 47,678 vehicles (including exports) during the month of December 2007, a decline of 2% compared to 48,757 vehicles sold in December previous year.

TML's Passenger Vehicle Business Unit mustered aggregate sales of 14,316 vehicles in the domestic market in December 2007, a decline of 13% vis-à-vis December 2006. The Indica sales stood at 9,497 units, a decline of 10%; Indigo family with a sales tally of 1,379 units, registered a steep decline of 33.6%. The Sumo and Safari accounted for sales of 3,440 units, declining by 10.6% y-o-y. The Safari recorded a 10% growth with sales of 1,161 units. The promotional scheme launched by the company on the occasion of the one-millionth car production milestone received a very encouraging response with retails reaching 26,000 units, the highest this fiscal.

The company's sales of commercial vehicles in December 2007 in the domestic market stood at 28,661 units, a growth of 2% compared to 28,179 units sold in December 2006. M&HCV sales aggregating 15,689 units were down 9%, while LCV sales at 12,972 units, grew by 19% over December 2006.

Tata Motors' exports at 4,701 vehicles in December 2007 were up 16% over export figure of 4,063 vehicles in December 2006.

Mahindra & Mahindra recording domestic sales of 6,887 units of utility vehicles in December 2007, as against 7,667 units a year ago, scripted a negative growth of 10.2% during the month.

Ashok Leyland's domestic sales numbers during the month were not flattering either. The company sold 5,488 units in December 2007 in domestic market in comparison to 5,396 units a year ago, thereby notching up a modest growth of 1.7%. However, its exports at 852 units made a handsome contribution leading to cumulative growth of 8% during the month.

Out of two-wheeler biggies, only Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) managed to clock a positive growth of 14% in domestic sales that added up to 20,818 units in December 2007 compared to 15,898 a year earlier.

Bajaj Auto witnessed a negative growth of 15% y-o-y in its two-wheeler sales in domestic market during December 2007. However, the company's exports rising by a hefty 56% reduced the cumulative sales deficit to 5.6% y-o-y.

Hero Honda Motors Ltd (HHML) had managed to stay on a growth curve till November, albeit at a moderate level. However, the company's domestic sales during the month of December 2007 at 226,103 units (237,834 units) hit the negative terrain for the first time in the current fiscal, sliding by 4.4% y-o-y.

For TVS Motor Company, December 2007 was no different from the earlier months of the current financial year and saw the company's two-wheeler sales in domestic market falling by 13.5%, with its motorcycles and scooters accounting for a negative growth of 20% and mopeds going up by 10.5%. However, TVS exports aggregating 14,402 units continued to surge.

Barring passenger vehicles, all other segments have seen the negative growth and, at best, the flat growth. At the Auto Summit, all industry leaders and experts were of the view that the current slowdown is cyclic and that the outlook for the Indian auto industry remains bright.