India Market Sales Analysis – June 2011

June 2011 was a reality check for Maruti Suzuki India. India's largest carmaker sold a total of 80,298 vehicles in the month, including 10,278 units exported, compared to 88,091 vehicles sold in June 2010. A flash labour strike at the Manesar plant in the first fortnight of June saw production hugely impacted for about 10 days. Once the strike was called off, the company focused on manufacturing the Swift to clear the substantial backlog for the car. It focussed exclusively on the hartchback and rolled out 800 diesels and 275 petrols a day ahead of its planned maintenance shutdown on June 27. As a result of the strike, Maruti sold just 3,199 units of the Swift and Dzire as against 8,081 units in the year-earlier month.

Hyundai Motor India recorded a 13.6 percent increase in sales for June 2011. Domestic sales accounted for 30,402 units as against 27,366 units in June 2010, up 11.1 percent. Segment-wise cumulative sales for the month were as follows: A2 segment (Santro, i10, i20) 45,260 units; A3 (Accent and Verna) 7,147 units; A5 (Sonata Transform) 24 units; Santa Fe, 100 units.

ArvindSaxena, director, marketing and sales, HMIL, said: “The market continued to be slow but Hyundai’s sales have grown partially due to the success of the New Verna. We have received over 21,000 customer bookings for it and are trying to fulfill the demand.”

Tata Motors’ passenger vehicles business reported a total sale and distribution offtake of 23,499 units (21,993 Tata + 1,506 Fiat) in the domestic market in June 2011, down by 22 percent compared to 29,948 units (27,811 Tata + 2,137 Fiat) in June last year. Sales of Tata cars for the month were 21,993 units, lower by 21 percent over June 2010. Nano sales comprised 5,451 units, 29 percent down over June 2010. While the Indica range sales were 8,188 units, down nine percent over June last year, the Indigo range recorded sales of 4,882 units, lower by 35 percent over June 2010.

Mahindra & Mahindra sales rose 29 percent at 35,584 units during June 2011 as against 27,562 units during June 2010. Domestic sales were 33,772 units as against 26,243 units during June 2010, an increase of 29 percent. The Verito recorded an increase of 168 percent, having clocked 1,510 units in June 2011, as against 563 units in June 2010. The passenger vehicles segment (which includes the UVs and the Verito) registered a 21 percent growth with sales of 6,053 units in June 2011 as against 13,316 units during June 2010. Ford India, whose Figo compact has been a blockbuster in compact car sales, delivered its 100,000th Figo. The company sold over 60,000 units wholesale and export vehicles from January to June 2011 compared to 39,465 units during the same period last year. In June the company had combined wholesale and exports of 9,145 vehicles, compared to 8,483 units in June 2010.

The Figo will soon embark on a journey to a 1,000 Indian cities in the form of a roadshow called Ford Figo Bharat Yatra, which began in Kolkata on June 29. This 100-day roadshow will engage customers in Tier 2 and 3 cities in various fun activities with the Figo.

Meanwhile, Ford is expanding its Chennai engine plant and working with diesel engine part suppliers in order to meet strong demand. Michael Boneham, managing director, said: “Our manufacturing team is working hard to meet the dramatic increase in Figo exports as well as to keep up with domestic sales growth.”

Škoda Auto India recorded a 69 percent increase in sales for June over the same period last year. In numbers, it was 2,611 units against 1,639 units for June 2010. Thomas Kuehl, Board Member, Sales and Marketing, Škoda Auto India said, “We will continue to focus on customer experience, dealership network and improved aftersales experience.” The Czech auto major is aiming to double its sales globally by 2018 to at least 1.5 million units and is looking towards the Indian market to contribute a considerable share percentage to its global sales figures. The company also initiated a Yeti Performance Drive to demonstrate the key features of its award-winning SUV. The event, which started from Chennai, will be extended to other markets including Delhi-NCR, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Meanwhile, Nissan Motor India sold 1,632 cars in the month compared to 77 units in June 2010. While the Micra accounted for 1,609 units in June 2011, the X-Trail, Teana and 370Z made up the remaining sales number. Kiminobu Tokuyama, MD and CEO, said: Last month we celebrated the 100,000th Micra to be produced in Chennai.”

The Volkswagen brand sold 5,397 vehicles in June 2011, a growth of 166 percent over the 2,032 vehicles sold in June 2010. The Polo and the Vento continue to be the backbone for the brand with a total of 5,136 units sold in June 2011. The Passat sold 197 units.

In the luxury segment, Mercedes-Benz sold 231 units of the E-class and 196 units of the C-class. The SUV portfolio comprising the ML-class and GL-class continued its impressive performance by clocking a combined 80 units in June 2011 as against 21 units in the year-earlier month. Audi India sold 408 units.

Two-wheeler sales take the fast lane

Hero Honda reported 20.12 percent jump in its sales for June at 5,12,244 units, over the same month last year when it had sold 4,26,454 units. “This is the first time the company has sold 500,000-plus units in each of the three months of a quarter. Sequentially, this is the fourth consecutive month of 500,000-plus sales for the company. With total sales of a record 1.5 million units in the quarter, we have once again set new benchmarks for ourselves,” said Anil Dua, Hero Honda Motors senior VP (marketing and sales).

Bajaj Auto sold 322,827 units in the month, 14 percent over June 2010 sales of 282,808 units. The Pulsar and Discover brands accounted for 66 percent of sales. Sales for the first quarter at 963,051 units were 16 percent over year-earlier quarter sales of 828,391 sales.

TVS Motor’s total two-wheeler sales grew by 14 percent with sales of 178,633 units in June 2011 in comparison with 156,685 units recorded in June 2010. Scooter sales increased by 21 percent with sales of 44,281 units, compared to 36,742 units recorded in June 2010. Motorcycles grew by 5 percent accounting for 69,859 units in June 2011 as against 66,452 units in June 2010. Domestic two-wheeler sales saw a growth of 11 percent with sales of 155,296 units in June 2011 against 139,905 units reported in June 2010.

Meanwhile, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) reported a 41.5 percent increase in its overall sales figures for June. It sold 148,937 units in June 2010 as opposed to 145,973 units sold in June 2010. The company sold 70,135 units during the month. On the other hand, scooter sales reported a relatively modest growth figure of 35 percent with a sale of 78,802 units.

India Yamaha Motor registered a sales growth of 30 percent in June 2011 with sale of 36,595 units compared to 28,155 units in June 2010. In domestic markets, sales grew 28.9 percent year-over-year at 27,263 units in June 2011 versus 21,157 units sold last year. The export figures stood at 9,332 units in June 2011 while 6,998 motorcycles were exported in June 2010, a growth of 33.3 percent. Jun Nakata, director - sales & marketing, said: “The launch of the new variants of the FZ series is driving our sales in both domestic and export markets.”

Mahindra 2 Wheelers recorded sales of 11,748 units in June, an increase of 16 percent over June 2010. Total cumulative sales for the first quarter of FY12 stood at 32,276 units, a growth of 18 percent over the same period last year when the numbers stood at 27,258. Both the key scooter brands, Rodeo and Duro, now have consumer franchises of over 100,000 each. The company’s foray into motorcycles has not quite taken off and the company had the product recalled. Clearly in an attempt to get things on track, the company has appointed Dharmendra Mishra as its vice-president, sales and customer car. Meanwhile, Suzuki Motorcycle India recorded a 42 percent increase in June 2011 sales at 25,367 units as compared to 17,858 units in the year-earlier month. The first quarter of the first fiscal has seen car sales dip while two-wheeler sales have held steady. It remains to be seen whether sales will rise closer to the festive season. Of course, a good monsoon will certainly bring cheer to all wheels.

BRIAN DE SOUZA