Car sales increase 38 pc in Q1

Market leader Maruti Udyog Ltd continued to record a growth in sales despite increased competition in the market. Its sales grew 13 per cent during the period at 89,131 units as against 78,395 units a year ago.

TELCO sold 7,822 units during the quarter as against a mere 653 units in the same period last year while Daewoo Motor India Ltd sold 5,839 units of Cielo, Matiz and Nexia, up 130 per cent from 2,529 units last year.

As per the SIAM figures, Hindustan Motors sold 5,661 units, up 30 per cent from 4,341 units in the first quarter of 1998-99. Ind Auto witnessed a whopping 239 per cent surge in despatches during theperiod at 4,641 units from 1,368 units a year ago. Hyundai sold 12,684 units of Santro in the period.

However, rest of the manufacturers recorded drops in sales. Ford India8217;s Escort sales dropped 28 per cent at 633 while General Motors India witnessed a 37.6 per cent decline at 612 units. Honda Siel also witnessed a 24 per cent drop in sales as compared to the previous year. Its retails during the period stood at 2,064 units as against 2,721 units last year.

Mercedes-Benz India sold 262 units in the quarter, down 21 per cent while PAL-Peugeot and premier automobile both witnessed a near erosion in sales during the period.

The multi-utility vehicle MUV segment recorded a 1.4 per cent growth in sales at 25,908 units as against 25,537 units a year ago. Mahindra and Mahindra led the pack with total sales of 15,714, up ten per cent. Bajaj Tempo was the only other manufacturer in the segment to have recorded a growth in sales at 1,458 units, up 24.9 per cent.

TELCO8217;s MUV sales dropped 15 per cent followedby Maruti Udyog Ltd and Hindustan Motors, both recording an over five per cent decline in sales during the quarter.