CHENNAI: Festive season demand has boosted automobile sales in the country to record highs for several manufacturers, with Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors posting high sales growth. In fact, Tata Motors recorded the highest monthly sales in the last four years this October.
While Nissan Motor India and Volkswagen also reported robust sales numbers for October, Toyota saw a decline of 6 per cent primarily due to its reliance on large engine diesel vehicles.
Market leader MSI reported domestic sales of 1,23,764 units as against 1,21,063 units during the same month last year. An increase of 2.2 per cent. “Market demand for Maruti Suzuki products remained strong during the month. Strong retail sales of Ciaz, S Cross and Ertiga, besides of course Brezza and Baleno, kept the momentum positive for us,” MSI Executive Director (Marketing and Sales) R S Kalsi said.
However, Maruti’s mainstays in the mini segment cars (Alto and WagonR) have declined by 9.8 per cent.
Rival Hyundai meanwhile, logged its best ever domestic sales numbers since it entered the India market, posting 50,016 units, a growth of 6.4 per cent. “Hyundai with a highest-ever domestic volume of 50,016 units registered record cumulative sales of 64,372 units in October 2016,” Hyundai Motor India MD and CEO Y K Koo said.
Tata Motors however, was the star as far as growth was concerned, witnessing domestic sales growth of 28 per cent to 16,311 units last month.
“The Tata Tiago continued to receive strong response and Tata Zest retails were highest ever during this festive season,” Tata Motors President Passenger Vehicle Business Mayank Pareek said.