Car sales slump in July, Maruti worst hit

agencyfaqs! News Bureau

NEW DELHI, August 26

It's been a tough ride for automobile manufacturers! According to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), passenger car sales fell by 13.3 per cent in July to 47,375 units. The big losers were market leader Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) and homegrown auto major Telco.

Worst hit was India's largest car maker Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) which recorded a sharp dip in its brand sales across the board. In the first four months of the current fiscal (between April and July), Maruti registered negative growth with sales falling by 20.09 per cent to 1,01,112 units from 1,26,535 units in the same period last year.

The market leader's share fell to 58.39 per cent in July 2000 from 68.45 per cent exactly a year back. In volume terms, MUL car sales fell to 27,665 units in July from 37,404 units in July last year due to stiff competition from the two Korean chaebols Hyundai and Daewoo, both of which reported positive growth during the month.

Domestic auto major Telco also recorded negative growth in car sales as the demand for Indica fell by 14.47 per cent to 3,583 units during July 2000 from 4189 units in the same month last year.

In sharp contrast, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) recorded an impressive 46.78 per cent jump to 7,265 cars in July 2000 compared with 4,949 units last year, while Daewoo Motors India Ltd (DMIL) sold 4,110 cars during the month, a rise of 46.73 per cent, against 2,801 cars in July 1999. Hyundai sold 28,277 units during the four months of the current year, up from 17,633 units last year, while Daewoo sold 1,9912 units, up from 8,640 units in the same period last year.

Ford India zoomed ahead with sales of its mid-size car Ikon jumping up by a massive 397.35 per cent to 1,502 units from 302 units in the same month last year. General Motors' sales shot to 648 units, up from 220 cars in July 1999. Other carmakers like Honda Siel and Mercedes Benz, however, recorded 28.7 per cent and 37.5 per cent dip in sales during July 2000.

The vibrant MUV segment recorded positive sales growth mainly on the strength of Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd, which sold 2,301 units of its recently launched Qualis. Telco's sales also went up by 15.22 per cent to 2,589 units from 2,247 units in the same month last year while the other MUV makers like Mahindra and Mahindra and MUL registering negative sales growth.

Recessionary trend continued in other sectors of the domestic automobile industry, with scooter sales falling by 14.32 per cent, commercial vehicles sales by 3.49 per cent and mopeds by 1.23 per cent during July 2000, according to the SIAM report.

However, sales of motorcycles, multi-utility vehicles and three wheelers rose during the month by 22.79 per cent, 16.22 per cent and 5.87 per cent respectively. In the two-wheeler segment, scooters attracted less and less number buyers with a 20.42 per cent sales dip to 73,045 units from 91,795 units in July 1999. Bajaj Auto and LML posted sales dip of 34.5 per cent and 30.25 per cent respectively. In the April-July period, Bajaj's sales fell by 20.33 per cent, while LML's sales went down by 30.68 per cent.

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