Indian car sales post respectable growth in Dec 2014 - Report

02/01/2015 - 10:57 Maruti Swift, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Anjan Ravi

Manufacturers skeptical on 2015 sales though.

Amid fear of increasing prices due to manufacturer-level price hikes, and roll back of excise duty, car sales in India last month posted respectable growth with manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai witnessing a double digit growth.

Mr RS Kalsi, Executive Director, Marketing and Sales, Maruti Suzuki with Mr Kenichi Ayukawa, MD and CEO, Maruti Suzuki at the Alto K10 launch — Models like the Alto K10 were sold out last month.

Market leader Maruti Suzuki sold 98,109 units in the domestic market marking a 13 percent jump year-on-year. Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL), the country's second largest car maker sold 32,504 units which was an increase of 14.7 percent over December 2013.

Other manufacturers (based on those who have announced their sales figures) like Mahindra and Toyota saw sales rise by 5 percent and 10 percent respectively. Mahindra sold 17,311 units while Toyota accounted for 11,740 units. General Motors however saw sales fall by 37 percent to 3,619 units.

Maruti's products like the Swift, Wagon R and Alto K10 were sold out thanks to discounts and lower waiting period. Hyundai too earlier announced that it had increased production of the Elite i20 to reduce waiting period.

Hyundai Elite i20 Petrol Review — HMIL posted double digit sales growth last month, and saw record sales last year.

Also read: All cars in India need safety features according to Nitin Gadkari

Another factor that increased sales last month was the healthy discount that was offered by most manufacturers to clear inventory. Going forth though, analysts are skeptical about car sales in 2015 as the excise duty has been hiked to the earlier rates, and manufacturers have announced price hikes in the region of 2 to 5 percent.

[Source - Economic Times]