Car sales keep pace in Dec

Car sales continued its upward journey in December. Traditionally a dull month, carmakers line up new launches for the coming year.

Sales figures of Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hyundai and Skoda India have gone up in the range of six to 42 per cent. Meanwhile, Honda and Ford have witnessed a decline.

Hyundai Motor India has reported an increase of 42.3 per cent in December at 11,067 units as against 7,777 units in the corresponding month a year ago. The company also witnessed 50 per cent rise in sales (12,288 units) in the overseas market during the period.

The country's largest automobile manufacturer Tata Motors sold 48,792 vehicles, including exports, up by 37 per cent over 35,598 vehicles sold in December 2005.

Commercial vehicles sales stood at 28,179 and passenger vehicles at 16,515. Cumulative sales for the April-December period saw 33 per cent growth at 407,452 units.

Utility and tractor manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra sold 15,132 vehicles in December, up 38.2 per cent compared with 10,953 in the same month last year. Scorpio sales grew 24 per cent to 3,397 units in the same period.

The company also sold 6,759 tractors, including exports at 655 units, an increase of 21 per cent as against 5,597 units sold in the year-ago period.

Cumulative sales of the company for the nine-month period from April to December 2006 grew by 25 per cent to 79,053 as against 63,389 registered in the year-ago period.

Czech car manufacturer Skoda India, which is into its sixth year in India, sold 838 units in December 2006 "� up six per cent from 789 in the corresponding month last year. Cumulative sales for the nine-month period grew by 36 per cent to 12,202 units as agianst 8,953 units of the last year.

Honda Siel Cars India (HSCI), the subsidiary of Japanese Honda Motors, sold 4,105 units in the last month (4,111).

The company, however, registered a growth of 45 per cent the April-December period at 43,299 vehicles as against 29,834 vehicles. The company sold 10,813 units of its premium entry level car Civic since its launch in the mid-year.

Ford India too registered a dip in sales in December. It sold 1,983 units as against 2,932 units sold in December 2005. In the calendar year, the company clocked 87 per cent growth to 42,060 units compared with 22,526 units last year.