India Market Sales Analysis – April 2011

Maruti Suzuki sold 97,155 vehicles in April 2011 inclusive of exports, which is a dip after three consecutive months of 100,000 unit sales. This dip in numbers could reflect a typical buyer pattern in which cars are bought in the last month of the financial year in order to avail of depreciation benefits. However, rising interest rates and sticker prices for cars as a result of input cost hikes may have also had their impact on sales.

In terms of models, the Maruti 800 sold 2,528 units, 12 percent above year-earlier month numbers. The chunk of Maruti sales was accounted for by the A2 segment comprising the best-seller Alto, Wagon R and Swift hatchback among other cars; they sold 57,443 units, 1.8 percent above April 2010 figures. The company sold 25 units of the Kizashi luxury saloon which it launched in January.

Hyundai Motor India saw its domestic sales for April 2011 grow 11 percent. Total sales stood at 52,058 units as against 52,020 units in April 2010, registering a growth of 0.1 percent. While domestic sales accounted for 31,636 units as against 28,501 units in April 2010, exports fell by 13.2 percent from 23,519 units in April 2010 to 20,422 units in April 2011. Arvind Saxena, director, marketing and sales, HMIL said, “The rising interest rates have led to reduced enquiries and the conversion rate too has slowed down. We expect the same trend to continue in the coming months.” Segment-wise cumulative sales for April 2011 were: A2 segment (Santro, i10, i20) 46,779 units; A3 segment (Accent and Verna) 5,227 units; A5 segment (Sonata Transform) 20 units; Santa Fe (SUV) 32 units.

Tata Motors’ passenger vehicles business reported a total sale and distribution offtake of 25,436 units (23,387 Tata + 2,049 Fiat) in the domestic market in April 2011 compared to 24,899 units (23,099 Tata + 1,800 Fiat) in April last year. Sales of passenger vehicles for April 2011 were at 23,387 units. Sales of the Nano were 10,012 units, higher by 184 percent over April last year as a result of a lower base. April 2011 sales of the Nano beat the previous highest of over 9,000 units in July last year. It remains to be seen if Nano numbers will help Tata Motors zoom ahead of Hyundai in total sales figures. The Indica range sales were 4,250, lower by 53 percent over April 2010. The Indigo range recorded sales of 5,282 units, lower by 27 percent over April last year. The Sumo/ Safari/ Aria/ Venture range accounted for sales of 3,843 units, higher by 15 percent over April 2010.

Mahindra & Mahindra’s domestic sales were 30,349 units, up 21 percent over year-earlier month sales of 25,037 units. According to a company release, the passenger segment including the Verito recorded a growth of 20 percent at 15, 459 units compared to 12,923 units in April 2010.

Ford India sold 7,319 vehicles and maintained robust exports in April 2011. The company sold 42,395 wholesale and export vehicles from January to April 2011, clocking an 83 percent during the same period last year when it sold 23,115 units. On the back of the Figo’s success in key global markets, the company shipped out 1,167 cars in April. The company recently unveiled its new Fiesta model and has re-badged the older Fiesta as the Classic.

Volkswagen India sold 7,000 vehicles in April 2011 with the Polo and Vento contributing 6,621 units. The new Passat, which went on sale on April 8, 2011, saw sales of over 190 units, the highest number clocked by the model till date. Neeraj Garg, board member and director, Volkswagen Passenger Cars, said, “The Polo and Vento sales have been consistently good, a lot of which is due to increasing brand awareness and especially with our association with the on-going Indian Premier League.”

Škoda Auto India sales for April 2011 stood at 2,446 units against 1,285 units for April 2010. The company is working on its dealership network to strengthen their sales force and recently inaugurated its 3s facility dealership in Goa. It plans to inaugurate one more 3s facility dealership at Meerut this month. Nissan Motor India said it clocked domestic sales of 1,207 units in April 2011 as against 47 units in April 2010. The increase has been attributed to sales of the Micra which was launched in July 2010. Of the 1,207 units, the Micra accounted for sales of 1,198 units in April 2011 as against 2,060 units sold last month. The Teana clocked just seven units in April 2011 as against 24 in April 2010 and just two X-Trails were sold in the month.

In the luxury segment, Mercedes-Benz India's sales numbers for April 2011 were 537 units, an increase of 67 percent over April 2010. Model-wise, the C-class registered a 72 percent growth by clocking 253 units and the flagship E-class grew by 42 percent at 178 units. MBIL sold 58 units of the M-class. In the first four months of this calendar, sales grew 67 percent to 2,670 units as compared to January-April 2010.

Meanwhile, Audi has recorded a 98 percent growth in April 2011 with a sale of 375 cars (189 cars: April 2010). For the January–April 2011 period, the company sold 1,986 cars – a growth of 105 percent over the same period last year (967 cars: January-April 2010). “ We are now gearing up for the launch of our design marvel, the new Audi A7 Sportback, which will soon be followed by the all-new Audi A6 later this year,” said Michael Perschke, Head, Audi India.

Boom in two-wheeler sales

Hero Honda Motors (HHML) kicked off the first month of the current financial year with its highest ever monthly sales. The company reported its second consecutive month of over 500,000 sales — 5,17,099 units of two-wheelers in April 2011, up 39.12 percent over the corresponding month last year.

The company had sold 371,652 units in April 2010. Hero Honda sales in April this year surpassed its previous highest of 515,852 units, recorded in March 2011. The company’s only scooter product, Pleasure, recorded 35,000 unit sales in April. Anil Dua, senior vice-president (marketing and sales), Hero Honda Motors Ltd said, “The growth has been due to growth across territories and across segments.”

The company recently took a significant step in building a new brand identity and developing its new brand communication. Close on the heels of bringing on board the brand and innovation specialist Wolff Olins to work on its new brand identity, the company has also roped in a creative partner Law & Kenneth (L&K) to give shape to the communication to launch and establish the new brand.

Rival Bajaj Auto recorded sales of 322,235 units in April, 17 percent over year-earlier month sales of 276,095 units.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India recorded sales of 136,623 units comprising 61,515 motorcycles and 75,515 scooters. The company said had reached its peak production capacity and as a result sales have been impacted.

TVS Motor Company saw a 14 percent increase in total sales for April 2011. Numbers-wise, the company sold 167,744 units as against 147,172 units in the corresponding month of 2010. The growth was led by the company’s scooter sales and international business. Domestic two-wheeler sales accounted for 141,619 units in April 2011 against 125,471 units reported in April 2010, up 13 percent. Scooter sales led the growth increasing by 31 percent with sales of 35,074 units compared to 26,860 units recorded in April 2010. Motorcycles grew by five percent to 69,573 units in April 2011 as against 66,000 units in April 2010.

Meanwhile, Mahindra Two Wheelers sales for April 2011 crossed the 9,558 unit mark, up six percent over the year-earlier month sales. The company claims to have a 39 percent share in the 125cc scooter segment.

India Yamaha Motor has maintained its sales growth momentum in April 2011 as well. It recorded a growth of 53 percent in domestic market in April 2011 with a sale of 25,817 units as against 16,869 units sold last year. Export figures stood at 8,659 units in April, 2011 while 8,099 motorcycles were exported in April 2010. The overall sales recorded stood at 34,476 units in April 2011 as against 24,968 units in April, 2010, a growth of 38.1 percent. Hiroyuki Suzuki, CEO and MD, India Yamaha Motor said, “We are delighted with the encouraging sales figures. Our marketing and promotion activities are on track and we hope to sustain this growth for the rest of the year.” The company continues to beef up its sales and service network in the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities to further increase its reach in the inner parts of the country.

BRIAN DE SOUZA