After March 2012, when almost all car-making OEMs registered record sales, the new fiscal year began with a more muted performance. Maruti Suzuki India sold 90,255 units in April 2012, just three percent over the 87,144 units sold in April 2011, a relatively quiet start to the new fiscal after a year in which sales were severely impacted by a labour strike.
In what has come as a surprise, the best-selling Alto was dethroned from its top position by the Swift which sold 19,484 units as against the Alto’s 17,482 units. It remains to be seen if the Swift continues its stellar performance, which is clearly driven by the massive consumer demand for diesel-engined cars.
The company’s other top-sellers were the WagonR which sold 10,247 units but the news that would really please Maruti is the sales of the new Ertiga MPV which sold 5,464 units. The MPV was launched in early April at an aggressive price of Rs 5.89 lakh, ex-showroom Delhi. The company is pinning its hopes on this vehicle to carve a niche for itself in a market that is seeing a preference for people-movers and Maruti has a first-mover advantage.
Hyundai Motor India’s domestic sales in April 2012 rose by 10.9 percent at 35,070 units from 31,636 units in April 2011. Segment-wise, the Eon sold 8,541 units while the Verna, with its battery of petrol and diesel variants, sold 6,251 units. The new Sonata went home to 66 owners and the Santa Fe to seventy. “Consumer confidence continues to be weak, prices went up following the excise hike in the Budget and interest rates are yet to come down,” admitted Arvind Saxena, director, marketing and sales.
Meanwhile, Tata Motors’ reported a total sale and distribution offtake of 23,658 units (22,658 Tata + 1,000 Fiat) in April 2012, down seven percent compared to 25,436 units (23,387 Tata + 2,049 Fiat) in April 2011. Sales of the Nano touched 8,028 units, continuing the car’s good showing since the launch of the 2012 edition. The Indica and Vista sold 6,913 units, up 63 percent over the 4,250 units sold in April last year. The Indigo and Manza sold 3,669 units, down 31 percent over the 5,282 units sold in April 2011. And earlier this fortnight, Tata and Fiat have announced a parting of ways on their six-year joint dealership initiative.
Toyota recorded 49 percent growth in April 2012, selling 14,378 units as compared to 9,681 units in April last year. The Etios series posted sales of 5,624 units as compared to 4,657 units in April 2011, up 21 percent. The Innova sold 6,582 units last month as compared to 3,464 units sold in April last year, registering 90 percent growth. The New Fortuner sold 1,270 units as compared to 739 units in April 2011, a handsome 72 percent growth. The Corolla Altis sold 881 units.
General Motors India’s April sales fell 20.34 percent at 8,005 units as against 10,050 units in April 2011. “Sales were affected by the uncertainty in fuel prices, hike in excise duty, and hike in local taxes in some states,” a company official said. Model-wise, GMI sold 821 units of the Spark, 4,586 Beats, 140 Aveos, 28 Optras and 455 Cruze saloons. It also sold 1,953 Taveras and 22 Captivas.
Mahindra & Mahindra recorded a 29 percent increase in its sales numbers, which stood at 39,299 units during April 2012, as against 30,349 units in April 2011, up 29 percent. The passenger vehicles segment (UVs and the Verito) grew 33 percent having sold 20,558 units in April 2012 compared to 15,459 units during April 2011.
Ford India’s domestic sales for April 2012 declined by 1.6 percent as it sold 7,201 passenger cars compared to 7,319 cars in April 2011. The Figo continued to be the mainstay with sales of 5,812 units, 70 percent of which were diesel. While the Fiesta Classic sold 980 units, the new Fiesta sold 227 units. In all, Ford India’s sales grew by 13 percent to 9,569 cars in April 2012 compared to 8,486 cars sold in April 2011.
Honda Siel Cars India, whose operations are back on track, sold 2,092 units of the City and 3,590 units of the Brio. The total monthly tally was 7,085 units. The numbers of the City and Brio were fewer than in March 2012 but the cause for some joy was sales of the Jazz at 1,300 units.
Volkswagen India, which is sponsoring the on-going IPL cricket tournament, sold 5,613 vehicles in April 2012. Neeraj Garg, board member, explained that despite a tough market, VW was able to post positive growth in 2011-12 by 38.48 percent over 2010-2011. Sales of the Vento though have felt the impact of the competition, selling 1,949 units as against 3,908 units in March 2012.
Nissan Motor India reported sales of 3,467 units in April 2012, up 187 percent year-on-year increase. Growth was driven by the Sunny saloon which sold 2,012 units in April. The company has sold 16,173 units of the midsizer since its September launch. The Micra sold 1,435 units, a 19 percent increase compared to April in 2011. The company is already planning a third launch shortly.
Hero MotoCorp on a high
In the two-wheeler segment, Hero MotoCorp has kicked off 2012-13 with its best-ever monthly sales. After selling over 6.2 million units sales in 2011-12, it continued the momentum with despatches of 5,51,557 two-wheelers in April compared to 5,17,099 units in April 2011. April 2012 sales surpassed its previous highest monthly sales of 5,49,625 units in September 2011.
Number two player Bajaj Auto sold 342,324 motorcycles in April, up six percent from 322,285 units sold in the year-earlier month. The Pulsar brand has cumulatively sold five million units so far since it made its debut in November 2001.
TVS Motor Company recorded sales of 151,181 units in April 2012 as compared to 141,619 units in April 2011. Total sales grew four percent in April 2012 with sales of 174,455 units against 167,744 units registered in April 2011. While scooter sales stood at 35,833 units in April 2012, up two percent against 35,074 units in April 2011, motorcycle sales accounted for 67,966 units in April 2012 against 69,573 units in April 2011.
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India sold 198,831 units in April, up 46 percent over year-earlier month figures. The sales break-up comprised 81,427 motorcycles and 117, 404 scooters. The company also launched a new CB Shine in two new colours.
India Yamaha Motor recorded a growth of 26,944 units in its domestic market as against 25,817 units last year, up 4.4 percent. Hiroyuki Suzuki, CEO and MD, India Yamaha Motor, said: “The YZF-R15 Version 2.0, FZ series and SZ series are doing very well in their respective segments. We've also added new variants to the FZ series.”
Meanwhile, Suzuki Motorcycle India, which plans to set up a new plant at Rohtak in Haryana with a capacity of 500,000 units and slated for completion in 2014, recorded a 4.34 percent increase in April 2012 sales, selling 30,635 units as compared to 29,362 units in April 2011. Atul Gupta, vice-president, sales and marketing, SMIPL, said: “We have received a good response for all our products and the growing customer satisfaction has led to positive word-of-mouth in the market.”
BRIAN DE SOUZA