CHENNAI: India’s auto sector recorded a second consecutive month of robust sales, riding on GST-driven price benefits and an increase in demand ahead of the festive season.
Many, including market leader Maruti Suzuki, Honda Cars and Tata Motors, recorded double-digit growth in domestic sales.
Maruti Suzuki’s domestic sales stood at 1,52,000 units, up 26.7 per cent year-on-year, driven primarily by sales of the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Dzire and Baleno, which jumped 62.4 per cent to 74,012 units. Utility vehicles such as Gypsy, Ertiga, S- Cross and compact SUV Vitara Brezza, meanwhile, grew another 27.6 per cent to 21,442 units, while mini segment cars, including Alto and WagonR, witnessed a marginal decline.
Rival Hyundai Motor India also saw a nine per cent increase in domestic sales. HMIL director, sales and marketing, Rakesh Srivastava said August sales were boosted by strong response to the newly launched Verna that received more than 7,000 bookings within 10 days of launch.
Tata Motors, on the other hand, also recorded robust passenger vehicles sales, at 10.29 per cent to 14,340 units last month, growth led by strong performances of the company’s new generation cars such as Tiago, Tigor and Hexa, according to Tata Motors president, passenger vehicles business unit, Mayank Pareek.
While Honda Cars India (24.5 per cent) and Mahindra & Mahindra (7.01 per cent) also saw growth, Ford and Toyota Kirloskar Motor were not so lucky, seeing domestic sales decline by 9 per cent and 6.12 per cent, respectively.
On the two-wheeler front, market leader Hero MotoCorp recorded its highest ever total monthly sales at 6,78,797 units, up 10.11 per cent year-on-year.
Rival Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) also recorded its highest ever sales, selling 622,180 units with a robust 26 per cent growth, while Bajaj Auto saw its total sales go up by just 1.4 per cent, affected by export related headwinds. TVS Motor Company also recorded a 16 per cent increase in overall sales in August.