India car sales fall 10 percent in April 2014, scooters shine

Passenger car sales in India dropped by 10.15 percent to 135,433 units in April 2014, down from 150,737 units in the year-earlier month. The fall indicates the continuing impact of high interest rates on the consumer segment as well as the fact that excise duty cuts, effected in the February 2014 interim Budget have not delivered the kind of numbers they were expected to.

Among the passenger cars, the Hyundai Grand i10, Xcent and Maruti Celerio saw good numbers but Maruti’s flagship Alto saw its sales down to about 17,000 units. Other good performers included the new Honda City and the refreshed Mahindra Bolero which sold about 9,000 units.

The entire passenger vehicle segment including vans and utility vehicles fell 9.50 percent. Unlike in previous times when UV sales had shown a month-on-month decline, this time around, UV sales were flat at 0.27 percent. In terms of numbers, 40,680 units were sold as against 40,570 in April 2013.

Sales of the Mahindra Bolero and Nissan Terrano are among those products that have boosted the UV numbers and the segment is expected to see some uptick going forward. Ford India has re-opened its bookings for the EcoSport for nearly all variants as it brings more output on line.

Meanwhile commercial vehicle sales continue to be in hot waters with M&HCV sales down 17 percent. LCV sales also fell 27 percent. In terms of actual numbers, 15,429 units were sold as against 18,610 units earlier. For LCVs, 43,080 units were sold as against 56,683 units in April 2013.

However, according to a recent Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT) report, there is some optimism in the heavy CV segment as OEMs witness some momentum and the huge discounts being offered are largely under control but overall sales are in negative territory.

While truck fleet replacement and expansion have taken a backseat among truck owners as they remain cautious, there has been an exception in the case of purchase of multi-axle trailers by fleet owners as their corporate clients insist on providing a young-age fleet as a condition to provide 3-4 year transport contracts from the current year, the IFTRT report said. 

As has been the case for the past year, the two-wheeler segment continues to save the blushes for the Indian automobile industry, helping it move into positive territory overall. Two-wheeler sales in April were up 11.67 percent with scooters continuing to be the bright stars on the firmament with 329,680 sold, up a handsome 26 percent (April 2013: 261,475 units). The popular Honda Activa is clearly one of the key contributors to this rally in sales.

On the export front, overall exports across all sectors including CVs, cars, two- and three- wheelers rose 24.66 percent to 197,443 units, up from 158,389 units in April 2013.