India Market Sales Analysis – June 2012

June 2012 was a gloomy month for car manufacturers as buyers continued to stay away from showrooms and dealers struggled to make sales. A high cost of ownership and high interest rates have considerably impacted consumer sentiment, a mood which is likely to persist throughout 2012-13. And with the bulk of car buyers looking firmly at diesel thanks to the Rs 30 per litre price differential with petrol, petrol car sales can only be headed south. For the record, Maruti Suzuki India notched a sales increase of 19.3 percent but this growth is due to the low base in June 2011, when the labour unrest had laid India’s largest carmaker low. Maruti sold 83,531 cars in June 2012 as compared to 70,020 units last June.

The Alto top-scored with 21,645 units followed by the Swift with 15,682 units. The Dzire sold 13,741 units while the SX4 totted up 408 units. The Ertiga sold 5,400 units in the month, the third consecutive 5,000 units-plus sales since its April launch. Not surprisingly, most sales are for the diesel version.

Hyundai Motor India sold 30,450 units in June as against 30,402 units in June 2011. “The general inflationary trend, high fuel prices, and interest rates that are still high are keeping the sentiment low. Unless any triggers get activated, sentiment is not expected to improve very much,” said ArvindSaxena, director (marketing and sales). The Eon sold 6,550 units and retains a slot in the top 10 ahead of the i10. While the Accent and Verna saloons together sold 10,182 units, HMIL sold 87 Santa Fes and 39 Sonatas.

Tata Motors’ passenger car sales for June were 17,244 units, lower by 22 percent over the 21,994 units sold in June 2011.. The Nano sold 5,605 units, three percent up compared to 5,452 units sold in June last year. Over the last three months, Nano sales have averaged about 8,000 units; so the June sales could well be a reflection of the impact of higher petrol prices. Meanwhile, sales of the Indica and Vista range sales comprised 5,332 units, down 35 percent over 8,188 units sold in June 2011. The Indigo and Manza range sales of 2,658 units were lower by 46 percent over the 4,882 units sold in June 2011. Mahindra & Mahindra, whose stable consists of only diesel models other than the Verito, sold 41,322 units in June 2012 as against 35,584 units during June 2011, an increase of 16 percent. The passenger vehicles segment (which includes the UVs and Verito) registered a growth of 23 percent, having sold 19,792 units in June 2012, as against 16,053 units during June 2011. The Bolero sold 9,514 units. Pravin Shah, chief executive, automotive division, said, “We expect the demand for utility vehicles to continue during the current financial year.”

Toyota Kirloskar Motor also bucked the general downturn, its sales increasing by 22 percent in June with 14,700 units as compared to 12,034 units in June 2011. The Etios and Liva sold 6,155 units compared to 5,739 units in June 2011, up seven percent. The Innova sold 6,785 units versus 4,665 units sold in June 2011; the Fortuner sold 1,249 units, up 26 percent over the 990 units in June 2011. The Corolla Altis sold 505 units.

General Motors India and Ford India were among those who were hit by sluggish sales. While Ford India sold 6,257 units in June 2012 compared to 6,940 units last June (down -9.84 percent), GM India sales were down by 10 percent – 7,364 units in June 2012 compared to 8,187 units in June 2011. Its June sales included 5,236 Beats, 741 Taveras, 614 Spark hatchbacks, 557 Cruze saloons and 181 Aveos. A GMI spokesperson said, “Substantial orders of the Tavera are pending due to supply constraints on account of a workers strike at the vendor’s end.”

The company, which launched a new Cruze with a 2.0-litre engine, announced that it will phase out three models – the Optra, Aveo and U-VA – from September to make way for a slew of new cars from its SAIC joint venture in China.

Volkswagen India recorded a marginal decline in sales at 5,371 units as against year-earlier sales of 5,397 units. While the Vento sold 2,581 units, the Polo sold 2,418 units.

Nissan Motor India reported a sale of 4,167 units in June against 1,632 units a year ago, an increase of 155 percent. The Sunny and Micra together contributed 4,157 units. Nissan has been able to expand its network presence across 66 percent of the local market. Nissan is now gearing up for the launch of the Evalia MPV, which was displayed at the January Auto Expo. Nissan has said the vehicle will be available to customers before the upcoming Diwali season.

With its all-petrol portfolio, Honda Siel Cars India was able to tot up sales of just 2,667 units comprising 609 Brios, 1254 Citys and 649 Jazz hatchbacks. The other models sold were 52 Accords, 58 Civics and 45 CR-Vs. The carmaker had sold 3,455 units in June 2011.

Skoda India sold 4,923 units in June 2012 as against 2,610 units in June 2011. The company claims that the Rapid saloon has been an important factor in the sales growth.

In the luxury segment, Audi India sold 718 cars in June 2012 (408 units in June 2011), taking its sales tally during the first half of 2012 to 4,000 cars, 43 percent more than in January-June 2011 when it sold 2,802 cars. Mercedes-Benz said its June 2012 sales rose 10 percent which included 175 units of the recently-launched M-class.

Hero MotoCorp comes up with its best-ever quarterly sales performance In the two-wheeler space, Hero MotoCorp reported its best-ever quarterly sales, riding on two consecutive months of record sales. With sales of 534,091 units in June 2012 (June 2011 sales: 512,244 units), its April-June tally for this financial year has touched 16,42,292 units (April-June 2011 sales: 15,29,577), its highest-ever sales in any single quarter. The company had sold 5,56,644 two-wheelers in May 2012, surpassing the 551,557 units sold in April 2012. Hero MotoCorp has recently announced its largest-ever investment of over Rs 2,500 crore to establish two new plants in Rajasthan and Gujarat, expanding capacity at existing plants and in building an R&D centre at Kukas in Rajasthan.

Bajaj Auto sold 318,377 units in June, down one percent over sales of 322,827 units in June 2011. The company has launched two new models recently including the Discover 100 and the Pulsar 200 NS which it hopes will bring in the numbers going forward.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) sold 266,864 units in June comprising 103,130 bikes and 123,734 scooters. These sales were about 50 percent over year-earlier month sales. During the month, HMSI launched its Dream Yuga commuter bike that will target the market leader, HeroMoto Corp (see page 4, July 1, 2012 issue).

TVS Motor recorded sales of 168,693 units in June 2012 against 182,456 units in June 2011. Domestic sales totalled 147,893 units in June 2012 against 155,296 units in June last year. Motorcycle sales accounted for 61,274 units as against 69,859 units in June 2011. Scooter sales stood at 38,166 units in June 2012 against 44,281 units in June 2011.

India Yamaha Motor’s January-June 2012 sales were up 9.6 percent with 228,378 bikes as against 208,288 bikes during January- June 2011. In the domestic market, it sold 160,718 units as against 152,177 units in January-June 2011, up 5.6 percent. The company is now making preparations to launch scooters in the second half of this year. Last month, it signed anMoU with the Tamil Nadu government to set up a new plant near Chennai. The unit will have a 400,000 capacity in the first phase.

Mahindra 2 Wheelers, which launched the Duro DZ, sold 11,201 units in June. It will now launch another scooter, the Rodeo RZ. “We are thrilled by increasing consumer preference for the recently launched Duro DZ. Consumers are loving this 'Romba Solid’ scooter that is designed specifically for tough Indian roads,” said VirenPopli, senior vice-president, marketing, sales and customer care.

BRIAN DE SOUZA