Indian economy on a roll: Auto sales soar

Automobile companies are all smiles prior to Diwali, the festival of lights with almost all of them registering a healthy growth in sales.

Let's take a look at the sales figures of automobile majors of India in October.

Maruti sold 118,000 cars in Oct

Maruti Suzuki India reported on Monday its highest ever monthly sales at 1,18,908 units in October, registering a robust 39.21 per cent jump over the year-ago period.

Sales for the same month last year were at 85,415 units, Maruti Suzuki India said.

The previous highest sales figure stood at 1,08,006 units in September 2010.

It was also for the fifth time in this fiscal that the company's monthly sales crossed the 100,000-mark.

The National Capital-based company also posted its best figure so far for the domestic market at 1,07,555 units in October, a 50.32 per cent increase from 71,551 units in October 2009, the statement said.

"For the first time, the company crossed one lakh units mark in the domestic market in October 2010," it added.
MSI's exports in last month, however, fell by 18.11 per cent to 11,353 units from 13,864 units in the year-ago period, the company added.

The sales of the company's once bread-and-butter model M800 declined by 15.78 per cent to 2,631 units from 3,124 units in October 2009, the statement said.

The A2 segment (comprising Alto, WagonR, Estilo, Swift, A-Star and Ritz) witnessed 50.67 per cent growth at 77,502 units compared to 51,437 units in the same month a year ago.

A3 segment sales (consisting of SX4 and DZiRE) increased by 32 per cent to 11,621 units compared to 8,804 units in the corresponding period a year ago, the company said.

MSI's total passenger car sales rose to 91,754 in October against 63,365 units in the same month in 2009, it added.
In the first seven months of this fiscal, the company's total sales stood at 7,15,886 units compared to 5,58,332 units, up 28.22 per cent.

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Tata Motors sales rise 21%

Automaker Tata Motors reported on Monday 21.26 per cent increase in its sales to 64,757 units during October compared to 53,404 units in the same month last year.

The homegrown firm's total passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market stood at 24,478 units in October, a jump of 22.32 per cent from 20,011 units in the same month last year, the company said in a statement.

The company's latest offering Nano's sales during the month stood at 3,065 units, up 2 per cent. 'Indica' range reported sales of 9,732 units, up 1 per cent from October 2009, Tata Motors said.

'Indigo' family recorded sales of 8,292 units, a rise of 69 per cent over the same month last year.

Sales of 'Sumo', 'Safari' and 'Aria' increased by 38 per cent to 3,316 units.

In the commercial vehicles segment, the company sold 34,329 units in the domestic market during the month compared to 30,541 units sold in the same month last year, up 12.40 per cent.

Light commercial vehicles sales during the month were at 20,689 units, a growth of 11 per cent over the last year, while medium and heavy commercial vehicle sales stood at 13,640 units, a growth of 14 per cent compared with October, 2009.

The company's exports in the last month grew by over two-fold to 5,950 units compared to 2,852 units in the same month last year, it added.

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Toyota Kirloskar sales jump 17%

Car maker Toyota Kirloskar Motor said on Monday that its sales had jumped 16.85 per cent at 6,602 units during October.

The company had sold 5,650 units in the corresponding month last year, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said.

TKM, a joint venture between the world's largest car maker Toyota and the Kirloskar Group, attributed the growth to healthy sales of its multi-utility vehicle Innova, premium sedan Corolla Altis and sports-utility vehicle Fortuner.

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M&M auto sales up 34%

Auto maker Mahindra & Mahindra reported on Monday 34.38 per cent jump in its total sales in October at 34,495 units.

The company had sold 25,670 units in the corresponding month of 2009, M&M said.

In the domestic market, the company registered a rise of 32.41 per cent at 32,491 units compared to 24,538 units in the year-ago period, it added.

Total sales of M&M utility vehicles, including Scorpio, Xylo, Bolero and Pick-Ups, stood at 15,908 units, as against sales of 13,114 units in October 2009, up 21.31 per cent.

Sales of the Logan sedan went up by over two-fold to 1,079 units during the month, from 401 units in the same month a year ago.

The company said sales of three-wheeler Gio and Maxximo mini-trucks during October jumped by 30.96 per cent to 5,410 units from 4,131 units during the same month last year.

Light commercial vehicle sales from Mahindra Navistar Automotives Ltd during the month, however, stood at 817 units, as against 841 units in the same month a year ago, a fall of 2.85 per cent.

M&M's exports during the month jumped over two-fold to 2,004 units, as against 882 units during October 2009.

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GM India October sales jump 36%

Car maker General Motors India said on Monday its sales climbed 35.59 per cent to 10,051 units in October this year compared to 7,413 units in the same month last year.

"The increase in the sales was primarily driven by the response to Chevrolet Cruze, Beat and Spark. . . Other car lines have also registered impressive growth during the month," General Motors India said.

The company sold 3,251 units of the hatchback Spark, 957 units of the sedan Cruze and 3,021 units of the latest compact car Beat in the reporting month, it added.

It also sold 328 units of premium hatchback Aveo U-Va, 405 units of the entry-level sedan Aveo, 333 units of the mid-sized sedan Optra, 1,594 units of the multi-utility vehicle Tavera and 162 units of the SUV Captiva.

The company had earlier ramped up production by adding the second shifts at Halol and Talegaon plants to meet the increased demand of its products.

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Hyundai's domestic sales touch new high

Hyundai Motor India reported on Monday its best ever domestic monthly sales at 34,725 units in October, a jump of 22.70 per cent over same month last year.

The company had sold 28,301 units in the domestic market in October 2009, Hyundai Motor India Ltd said.

The previous highest sales figure of 31,751 units in the domestic market was achieved in September this year.

The company's total sales increased marginally to 52,225 units against 51,735 units in the year-ago period.

Exports of the company, however, fell 25.32 per cent to 17,500 units from 23,434 units in the year-ago period, the statement said.

"The market has been on an upswing for the last few months, but the introduction of the new Next Gen i10 has really pepped up things for HMIL with the new i10 sales growing as much as 26 per cent in the last two months," HMIL director (marketing and sales) Arvind Saxena said.

The company is changing its 'production mix' to meet this increased demand in the domestic market, he said without giving details.

In its A2 segment (Santro, i10 and i20), the company sold 46,399 units, while in the A3 segment (Accent and Verna) sales were at 5,730 units.

The A5 segment (Sonata Transform) of HMIL witnessed sales of 22 units, while its new SUV Santa Fe received 74 buyers during the month.

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Suzuki Motorcycle sales up 61% in October

Two-wheeler maker Suzuki Motorcycle India reported on Monday a 60.51 per cent growth in its sales in October at 25,439 units compared to 15,849 units in the same month last year.

"We have received very good response from the market to all our products including the newly-launched, Suzuki SlingShot. We are committed to continue this growth momentum in future," Suzuki Motorcycle India vice president (sales and marketing) Atul Gupta said.

The company attributed its growth to the good response from its motorcycle GS150R, scooter Access125 and the recently launched bike SlingShot.

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Yamaha Motor sales up 19%

Two-wheeler maker India Yamaha Motor reported on Monday 19.21 per cent increase in its total sales in October at 37,251 units.

The company had sold 31,247 units in the same month last year, India Yamaha Motor said.

In the domestic market, the company's sales stood at 31,791 units, as against 26,897 in the same month last year, up 18.20 per cent.

Exports of India Yamaha rose by 25 per cent to 5,460 units from 4,368 units in the year-ago period, it added.

"We are overwhelmed with the encouraging response we have been receiving for our premium segment bikes such as YZF-R15 and FZ series including new limited edition FZ series bikes," India Yamaha Motor director (sales and marketing) Koji Arai said.

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Ford's October sales soar over two-fold

Car maker Ford India reported an over two-fold jump in its October sales at 9,026 units on the back of its latest small car Figo getting a good response.

The company had sold 3,458 units in the same month last year, Ford India said in a statement.

"It is a proud moment for us to have recorded our second highest-ever monthly domestic sales this year," Ford India president and managing director Michael Boneham said.

Besides, the company has exported over 650 units of Figo in this month to South Africa. Apart from Figo, the company sells models such as the Ikon, Fiesta and Endeavour in India.