Car sales pick up pace in June, rise 16%

New launches and aggressive marketing by the car majors have helped the falling car sales to gather steam in June.

Car sales registered a double-digit growth rate of 16.36 per cent in June, selling 94,002 units, against 80,784 cars sold in June last year. The car industry had posted 9.07 per cent growth in May.

Maruti Udyog was the top performer, selling 56,000 units in June, more than the combined figures of Hyundai, Tata Motors, GM, Ford, Honda and Toyota which were 46,793 units.

However, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), the auto industry in the country is witnessing a negative growth of 6.49 per cent at 751,360 units compared with 803,487 units during the same month in the previous year.

The total passenger vehicles, including utility and multi-purpose sold during the month stood at 119,838 units, a growth of 15.73 per cent compared with 103,549 units a year ago.

Commercial vehicles (CVs) grew by 4.15 per cent, despite the high lending rates and the cyclical downturn in the industry. The industry recorded sales of 35,390 units compared with 33,980 units in the previous year.

Tata Motors recorded a dip of 0.7 per cent in the CV category, selling 21,417 units against 21,565 units sold in June 2006.

The motorcycles growth slipped by 17.17 per cent to 437,776 units in June, against 528,499 units in the corresponding period last year.

The Chennai-based TVS Motors recorded the biggest fall of 39 per cent, selling 40,379 units compared with 66,852 units in June 2006. The Pune-based Bajaj Auto recorded a fall of 22 per cent in sales of motorcycles at 123,273 units during the same period.

The two-wheeler industry as a whole, including motorcycles, scooters, mopeds and electric bikes, recorded a fall of 10.66 per cent at 564,971 units compared with 632,373 units posted during the same month a year ago.

Ashutosh Goel, auto analyst, Edelwiess Capital, said, "Car sales will depend on which player brings out what new model. Comparing the monthly sales figures may not give a clear picture. We are expecting a 14-15 per cent growth by the financial year-end."

The new launches by Maruti, M&M and General Motors had helped to keep the car industry afloat with better sales, he added.