Maruti, M&M sales surge, Honda skids

Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest passenger car maker, has posted a 15 per cent growth in sales in October at 64,258 units, mainly contributed by the compact and sedan segments.

Maruti sales grew 20 per cent in the high volume A2 segment (comprising Alto, Wagon-R, Zen Estilo and Swift) at 47,077 units, while the SX4 sedan logged sales of 4,177 units during the month. However, sales of the 800cc model fell nearly 30 per cent in October at 4,477 units.

Utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra posted a 60 per cent growth in sales in October at 18,925 units, mainly due to a better performance by the Logan sedan which sold 2,214 units. The company sells Scorpio and Bolero in the utility vehicle segment.

Tata Motors sales grew nearly 8 per cent at 18,021 units in the domestic market, as against 16,726 units sold in the corresponding month last year.

The Indica model reported a growth of 6 per cent while the Indigo sedan grew by 37 per cent. The company said that the new Safari Dicor 2.2 VTT launched last month was well received. The company plans to launch next generation Indica and Indigo models next year.

Sales of US-based car maker General Motors climbed 95 per cent to 6,139 units in October. The company sold 12,000 units of small car Spark which was offered at a discount for ten days.

The company said its Tavera, Aveo, Aveo UVA and Optra models have also done well.

"The sales figures this month clearly reflect the customer's confidence in the Chevrolet brand and the consistent growth in monthly sales is an indication of the success of all our car lines," said P Balendran, vice president, GM India.

Honda Siel Cars India sold 5,287 units, a 5 per cent dip from the 5,571 units sold in October last year.

Arvind Jain, auto analyst with Religare Securities, said, "Maruti has been able to do well due to no product introduction by competitors. The company could face a tight situation in the coming months mainly because of new launches by Hyundai and Tata Motors. M&M is also expected to introduce new products."