Auto industry shows strong growth,Hyundai reclaims 2nd spot

Aided by lower interest rates on car loans,higher incomes,and a slew of launches in the small-car segment,automobile manufacturers have posted good sales figures in July....

Aided by lower interest rates on car loans,higher incomes,and a slew of launches in the small-car segment,automobile manufacturers have posted good sales figures in July. While the countrys largest auto maker,Maruti Suzuki,posted a 29.18 per cent increase in sales at 1,00,857 vehicles last month as against 78,074 for July last year,Hyundai Motor has managed to wrest the position of second biggest carmaker from Tata Motors only a month after losing the spot to the rival.

As per figures released by the two companies,while Tata Motors sold 27,864 units last month,Hyundai clocked total sales of 28,811 units in the domestic market. However,while Hyundais domestic sales increased by only 24.22 per cent in the month under review,that of Tata Motors rose by 62.08 per cent boosted by good Nano sales of 9,000 units.

Maruti Suzuki said in a statement,This is the second time in this fiscal that the company8217;s monthly sales figure has crossed 1 lakh mark. Domestic sales in July are also the highest ever domestic sales in a month. The company also reported a 1.9 per cent rise in exports,which stood at 10,743 units. Maruti Suzukis sales volume in the domestic market grew by 33.4 per cent.

Hyundai Motor sold 50,411 units in July compared with 45,539 units sold in the same month last year. While the countrys second largest carmaker registered a 24 per cent growth in domestic market,it suffered a 3.3 per cent decline in exports during the period under review.

Riding on its model,the Figo,Ford India closed last month selling 8,739 units,up from 2,146 units sold in July of last year. Ford8217;s July sales were 20 per cent higher than that of what it sold in the previous month. General Motors too reported a robust growth in sales at 7,124 units in July,up 45 per cent from same month last year. Nissan Motor India said it sold 1,005 units for July,of which 928 units were of its new small car,the Micra.

Among tow-wheeler manufacturers,Hero Honda,Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor have also posted sales growth for July. The countrys largest two-wheeler manufacturer Hero Honda saw sales soaring 30.39 per cent,compared to that in July last year.

Bajajs total sales surged 65 per cent to 318,415 units. Motorcycle sales soared 66 per cent to 279,981 units while three-wheeler sales grew 60 per cent to 38,634 units. TVSs total sales in July rose 35 per cent to 163,106 units from 120,944 units. Two-wheeler sales went up 33 per cent to 107,883 units while three-wheeler sales tripled to 3,108 units from 1,026 units a year earlier.