Auto sales back on track in July

With the odd exception,it would appear that the sales of domestic automobile manufacturers in July are back on track....

With the odd exception,it would appear that the sales of domestic automobile manufacturers in July are back on track. But while most major players have registered double-digit growth,these figures may have been inflated by the fact that it was in July 2008 that the first signs of the economic downturn began to affect the industry and hamper growth.

While last year passenger car segment leaders Maruti Suzuki had struggled to break even with a 0.10 per cent growth in sales selling 52,010 units,July 2009 brought with it a 29.43 per cent sales increase as the company sold 67,314 units. HMIL has seen a similarly buoyant July selling 23,193 units which has given them 53.94 per cent growth in domestic sales at a time when they claim to have shifted their focus to exports. The company had sold 15,066 units in July 2008 and only seen a 0.40 per cent increase in sales in the same month. Tata Motors on the other hand has recorded more equitable numbers. In July 2008,having sold 14,652 units,they had a sales growth of 13.90 per cent. Since then though their fortunes have dipped in comparison to Maruti and Hyundai; they have sold 23,193 units in July 2009,which gives them a tidy 17.33 per cent increase in sales.

Despite the hype and hope surrounding the Jazz,the fortunes of Honda Siel Cars India HSCI have not seen much of a surge with the Jazz selling at fewer than half the total number of Honda Citys sold,thus also missing the companys own target for the car by nearly 500 units. Sales increased by 11.99 per cent with the company selling 4,857 units in July 2009 over the 4,337 units sold during the same period last year. Fiat saw a 552.91 per cent increase in sales,selling 2,690 cars this July when it sold only 412 units in July 2008. This disproportionately large figure is because most of the companys current portfolio was only launched towards the end of 2008 or the beginning of 2009. Arvind Saxena,senior vice-president,Hyundai Motors India Limited HMIL,said,It seems the market is stabilising at this point and in the coming months we hope to see both the export and the domestic market picking up especially with the festival season starting next month.

In the two-wheeler segment,Hero Honda grew by 30.30 per cent in July 2009 selling 3,66,808 units in all,including exports. The economic downturn has not been at all kind to Bajaj which is the only major manufacturer to see sales tread into the negative zone. Sales dropped by 0.73 per cent as the company sold 1,69,971 units in July 2008 but only managed to sell 1,68,731 units in July 2009.