Car sales on the rise

Leading auto makers such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor and Hero MotoCorp have reported healthy monthly sales for March as customers rushed to showrooms ahead of expected price hikes after the Budget. The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki reported its highest ever domestic sales at 1.13 lakh units, an increase of 2.08 per cent over 1.10 lakh units in March 2011. Rival Hyundai Motor India's sales in the domestic market went up by 22.9 per cent to 39,122 units from 31,822 units in same month last year. “We could meet our expectations in March as there was considerable interest to beat the expected price hike in the Union Budget. The market continues to pose many challenges and things can improve if interest rates come down this quarter,” Hyundai Motor India Director (Marketing and Sales) Arvind Saxena said. General Motors India posted 12.8 per cent increase in its sales in March this year at 10,588 units compared to 9,391 units in the same month of 2011. Similarly, Volkswagen said its sales for March rose 2.85 per cent to 8,326 units from 8,095 units in the same period last year. Nissan Motor India reported its highest ever monthly sales at 5,880 units against 2,101 units. Ford India, however, said its domestic sales declined by 13.9 per cent to 9,026 units from 10,485 units. Tata Motors' total passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market stood at 36,984 units in March, highest ever in a month and a growth of 34 per cent, over 27,678 vehicles sold in the year-ago period. Mahindra & Mahindra's sales of passenger vehicles stood at 23,020 units during the month under review against 17,320 units in March 2011. Honda Siel Cars India reported a three-fold jump in its sales for March at 11,016 units compared to 3,576 units in the same month last year. Toyota Kirloskar Motor witnessed an 87 per cent increase in car sales to 18,220 units in March as against 9,726 units in the corresponding month last year. In two-wheelers, Hero MotoCorp reported 2.4 per cent increase in its sales at 5.28 lakh units against 5.16 lakh units. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India saw a 49.7 per cent jump in total sales at 2.20 lakh units against 1.47 lakh units. TVS Motor Company's sales witnessed a 3.48 per cent decline at 1.80 lakh units against1.86 lakh units. Suzuki Motorcycle India posted a 28.5 per cent growth in sales at 35,158 units against 27,361 units. India Yamaha Motor's sales stood at 29,819 units in March as against 25,786 units in the same month last year. Keywords: India car sales, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor India