The slump in car sales mainly came from rising inflation and interest rates coupled with high fuel prices which continued to dissuade customers from any fresh purchases.
India’s biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India reported a 9.2% decline in sales to 59,908 units in August from 65,968 units in the same month last year. The domestic sales dipped 10.2% to 54,113 units in August from 60,229 units in the same month last year. The exports remained unchanged at 5,795 units in August from 5,739 last year. The sales of sedan (SX4, DZire and Esteem) grew at 12% from 4,839 units last year to 5,427 units this year.
India’s biggest car exporter Hyundai Motor India grew at 34% to 21,610 units in August from 16,138 units in the same months last year. The exports grew at 89% to 23,100 units in August from 12,256 units in the same period last year.
Tata Motors’ sales saw a decline of 6% to 15,573 units in August from 16,620 units in the same period last year. The sales of the flagship model Indica dropped by 31% to 7,756 units in August this year from last year. The sales of sedan Indigo grew by 104% to 4,460 units while the SUVs range grew by 11% to 3,357 units this August.
The sales of Mahindra & Mahindra grew by 5% to 18,321 units in August as against 17,438 units in the same period last year. The sales of the sedan Logan were 1,464 units this year as compared to 2,252 units last August.
American auto major General Motors India which sells cars under the umberalla brand of Chevrolet recorded growth of 4.4% to 6,074 units in August 2008 compared to 5,817 units in the same period last year.
Luxury carmaker Honda Siel Cars India saw a drop in sales by 19.4% to 3,945 units in August against 4,879 units in the same month last year.
Skoda India posted a 22.56% rise in sales to 1,103 units in August this year as against 900 units sold in the same period last year.
