Passenger car sales kicked off the financial year to a robust start, growing at 16.59 per cent, with April 2006 sales at 74,536 units, as against 63,932 units sold in April 2005. This is more than twice the growth rate seen for the previous financial year, when the growth was 7.55 per cent.
Though it is only the first month in the new financial year the growth seen in the passenger car market in April is in line with projection given by market leader, Maruti Udyog, which is expected to grow at double digit rates in the current financial year. Maruti has 50 per cent market share in the Indian passenger car market.
However, two-wheeler sales grew by 12 per cent in April 2006, with total volumes at 6.05 lakh units was a shade below growth in this segment reported in the previous financial year, when it grew by 13.63 per cent.
Commercial vehicle sales too grew at an impressive 68.59 per cent in April 2006, with total volume at 28,475 units, against a total volume of 16,890 reported in the same month last year.
Interestingly growth in the medium and heavy commercial vehicle segment, at 83.99 per cent, outstripped the light commercial vehicle segment that grew 48.42 per cent.
In 2005-06, the LCV segment grew at 19.44 per cent, while the M&HCV segment grew at just 4.5 per cent. In April 2006, cumulative sales for LCV was 28,475 units and the M&HCV segment saw sales of 17,621 units.
Even as the motorcycle segment continued to steer the two-wheeler market, contributing over 80 per cent of the total segment size, the sales growth reported was more or less on par with the growth reported in 2005-06, at 17 per cent.
The two major changes in the two-wheeler segment was however seen in the scooter and moped segment. Moped sales grew by 14 per cent in April 2006, with sales of 27,121 units, while in the whole of 2005-06, this segment grew by only 3.15 per cent to touch a total sales 3.34 lakh units.
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