India auto sales crawl through September

September, with the onset of the festive season and an abundant monsoon, was expected to bring some cheer to vehicle OEMs but the sales numbers for most manufacturers reveal the same crawling story. Buyers are just not biting and the Top 5 carmakers, barring biggie Maruti Suzuki India which had near-flat sales, saw sales fall during the month. While Hyundai Motor India’s sales fell marginally, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors posted double-digit declines. High interest rates, steep fuel prices and an overall slowdown in the economy have been keeping potential buyers away from showrooms, since the past 8-10 months. Last month also saw a good number of OEMs – Maruti, M&M and Toyota – effect a price increase from October 1, citing higher input costs, devaluation of the rupee and increase in some raw material costs.

Maruti Suzuki India reported total domestic sales of 90,399 units in September 2013, marking 1.80 percent growth (September 2012: 88,801). The entry level quartet of the 800, Alto, A-star and Wagon R sold 41,061 units in September 2013 (September 2012: 39,150), up 4.9 percent while the Swift-Estilio-Ritz combine sold 20,828 units (September 2012: 17,813), up 16.9 percent. The popular Dzire, which sold 16,708 units (September 2012: 11,694) to record 42.9 percent growth, was the carmaker’s best-seller during the month. SX4 sales were up 31.3 percent to 378 units compared to 288 in September 2012. Among the UVs, the Ertiga was the best contributor to sales of 2,657 units (September 2012: 7,224), down 63.2 percent. Sales of the Omni and Eeco at 8,767 units were down 30.5 percent over the 12,620 units sold in September 2012.

On the export front, Maruti notched an increase of 180.8 percent, with sales of 14,565 units compared to 5,187 units in September 2012.

In the coming months, Maruti will be looking to drive new gains, particularly in rural India where thanks to a good monsoon purchasing power is expected to rise substantially. Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), the country’s second largest car manufacturer, registered domestic sales of 30,851 units in September 2013, down 0.8 percent on September 2012 sales. On the export front, the company, which is India’s largest car exporter, sold 22,706 units in September 2013, down 8.3 percent on sales a year ago (September 2012: 20,817)

Commenting on the month’s sales, Rakesh Srivastava, senior VP, sales and marketing, HMIL, said, “In the current market scenario volume growth is a big challenge. Last month, we launched our new model Grand i10 in the midst of slowdown and have received phenomenal response from our customers. We expect the market challenges to continue and have a cautious optimism for the upcoming festive season.”

Mahindra&Mahindra (M&M)saw a20.555 percent sales decline in September 2013. The passenger vehicles division (UVs, Verito and Verito Vibe) sold a total of 18,916 units compared to 23,808 units in September 2012 in the domestic market. Hit by the ‘SUV tax’ after the Union Budget earlier this year and poor market sentiment, M&M, like most OEMs, is bearing the brunt of a slowdown in vehicle sales.



Speaking on the monthly performance, Pravin Shah, chief executive, Automotive Division, M&M, said, “While there has been a growth over August 2013, it is not to the extent that makes us comfortable especially as we approach the festive season. Factors such as increase in input and raw material costs and the depreciating rupee have not helped. To compensate to some extent, we have taken a price increase effective today. The auto industry is definitely in need of a trigger in terms of a stimulus to boost consumer sentiments leading to a turnaround in the sector as well as a revival of the economy in general.”

Tata Motors reported a 40.52 percent decline in total vehicle sales at 12,879 units (September 2012: 21,652). Sales of the Nano, Indica, Indigo range in September 2013 were 9,766 units, while that of Sumo, Safari, Aria, Venture range were at 3,113 units (September 2012: 4,519).

Toyota Kirloskar Motor registered sales of 12,015 units in the domestic market in September 2013 (September 2012: 12,115), down 0.83 percent.The company exported 3,780 units of the Etios series last month. According to Sandeep Singh, deputy MD and chief operating officer, marketing and commercial,“The market continues to be sluggish. We hope that the market will improve with the upcoming festive season."



Honda Cars India reported a sales increase of 88 percent for September 2013 by selling 10,354 units (September 2012: 5,508 units). The Amaze was the best-seller with 6,679 units. The other cars that contributed to the total were the Brio (1,452), City (2,043), Accord (46), and CR-V (134).

For the six-month April-September 2013 period, the company has sold 59,617 units, marking a growth of 68 percent (April-September 2012: 35,440 units). The carmaker also exported a total volume of 701 units in September 2013.

Commenting on the company’s performance, JnaneswarSen, senior vice-president (marketing &sales), said, "Honda Cars has outperformed despite a consistent slump in the demand of passenger cars over the past 8 months. We are happy to see the huge demand for the Amaze and Brio. The sales figures have set a positive tone for the upcoming festive season. We have recently introduced the 'Exclusive' edition of the Honda Brio with all-black interiors and attractive accessories and are confident that this new sporty and youthful look of the car will appeal to our customers.”

Ford India’s domestic wholesales grew by 37 percent with 10,640 units sold this September compared to 7,794 sold last September, another record. The carmaker also exported 3,577 vehicles in September, including to new markets like Taiwan.



“Despite prevailing difficult economic conditions, we are excited to see our products finding greater acceptance among customers that is mirrored in our sales,” said VinayPiparsania, Ford India’s executive director of marketing, sales and service. The company had announced special offers for the Indian festive season lasting from August to November. “We, along with our partners, are working hard to optimise deliveries and reduce the waiting time in delivering Ford products to customers,” he added.

Two-wheeler OEMs fare better



Market leader Hero MotoCorp reported a robust sales performance for September 2013, notching 15.78 percent growth over sales a year ago. Anil Dua, senior vice-president (marketing &sales), said, “Our performance in September is a result of the strong retail growth we have reported throughout the first half of this financial year. Our 16 percent growth in despatch sales in September has come on the back of a consistent 7 percent growth in our retails this year. This has been helped by strong performance of our models and our customer-friendly corporate initiatives such as the 5-year warranty across our range and ‘Hero Mileage’ – the promise of extra kilometres per litre.”

The company, which recently celebrated the landmark for cumulative production of 50 million two-wheelers, has commenced construction work at its Centre of Global Innovation and Research & Design (R&D)at Kukas, on the outskirts of Jaipur, with an investment of Rs 450 crore. This facility will be ready for operations by the first quarter of calendar year 2015.

Bajaj Auto sold a total of 177,032 motorcycles in September 2013, down 2.83 percent on the 182,192 units it had sold a year ago. It also exported 146,847 units during the month, its highest ever exports for the month of September.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter Indiahad a good month in September, selling 328,965 units (September 2012: 243,126), up 35.31 percent. This sales figuremarks the company’s highest ever sales in a month and highest-ever domestic sales by crossing 300,000 units in a month. HMSI sold 163,229 motorcycles (up 44 percent YoY) and 165,736 scooters (up 28 percent YoY) during the month

TVS Motor Co has announced domestic sales of 13 percent in September 2013. The two-wheeler manufacturer sold a total of 168,598 units during the month compared to 149,191 units in September 2012.



According to the company, motorcycles sales grew 30 percent, increasing to 83,043 units in September 2013 (September 2012: 63,832units) and scooter sales rose 8 percent to 43,201 units (September 2012: 40,055units). Last month, TVS launched the all-new, all-aluminium Jupiter scooter which it is banking on to deliver additional sales along with the existing Wego scooter. The company is targeting 50,000 unit scooter sales a month by December this year.

Meanwhile, the company’s two-wheeler exports grew 32 percent with sales of 21,011 units in September 2013 compared to 15,901 units in September2012.

Suzuki Motorcycle India Ltd has registered a 9 percent increase in its September 2013 sales as compared to September 2012. The two-wheeler maker sold 41,734 units during the month compared to 38,271 units in September 2012.