Car sales gain momentum in April

The domestic auto market is showing signs of revival thanks to the 4 percentage point cut (400 bps) in excise duty on cars and two-wheelers announced in February. April witnessed a jump of more than 17 per cent in the car segment, while sales in the utility vehicle segment rose by 31 per cent, as compared with the corresponding month last year.

According to the figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the passenger-vehicle segment, which also includes multi-purpose vehicles, grew by 21 per cent. The motorcycle sales grew by 8 per cent during the month.

While 84,283 cars were sold in April 2007, 98,740 cars were sold last month. Sales were led by models from Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and General Motors (GM). Anticipation of a hike in prices in the coming weeks also pushed sales.

"Benefits of the excise duty cut can be seen in individual sales of companies, such as Maruti, Hyundai and GM. These collectively command over 66 per cent of total sales," said an analyst. 
 

SPUTTERING GROWTH
	Apr '08	Mar '08	Apr '07	y-o-y Apr  Chg (%)
Commercial vehicles	33,271	56,262	30,914	7.60
Passenger cars	98,740	128,074	84,283	17.10
Multi-purpose vehicles	9,070	9,570	6,118	48.20
Utility vehicles	22,203	28,811	16,862	31.70
Two-wheelers	616,038	630,976	570,381	8.00
Scooters/scooterettes	81,002	83,022	72,369	12.00
Motorcycles/step-through	501,592	506,884	463,091	8.30
Electric 2-wheelers	500	1,002	1,578	-68.30
Source: Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers

Maruti Suzuki posted a growth of 22 per cent during the month, selling 59,539 units. Hyundai Motor India sold 21,501 units, up by 36 per cent. Meanwhile, GM sold 5,563 units, growing by 24 per cent. In all, 1,30,013 passenger vehicles were sold in April.

Forecasts of a decelerating market due to shrinking credit options and high interest rates had no effect on sales of two-wheelers. Sales of motorcycles and scooters grew by 8.31 per cent and 11.93 per cent, respectively. Electric vehicles, on the other hand, witnessed a declined of 68 per cent in turnover.

Motorcycle manufacturers sold 5,01,592 units this year, as compared with 4,63,091 in April last year. Market leader Hero Honda saw a growth of 9 per cent, selling 2.86 lakh units. Bajaj Auto posted a growth of 23 per cent, selling 2.03 lakh units.

Hero Honda said its expansion in rural areas helped boost sales. Bajaj said growth was seen mainly in the 125cc-plus category, where it has a 50 per cent market share. Sales in the overall commercial vehicles for April this year grew by 7.62 per cent: 33,271 units were sold as compared with 30,914 units in April 2007.