India’s economy is not in recession, but Indian automobile buyers are behaving like they are in one. March sales of passenger cars in India saw a fall for many, including Hyundai Motor India (HMIL), Tata Motors, General Motors India and Ford India, as there was sluggish demand from customers.
Tata Motors’ commercial vehicles sales also were down 2 per cent during the month as compared to March 2012. The company sold a total of 69,160 vehicles last month.
HMIL’s total sales were impacted by 5 per cent to 56,437 units in March this year against 59,229 units sold in the corresponding month last year.
“The slowdown of the economy is impacting vehicle sales. Against the large base of last year, there was a sharp drop in conversion of enquiries in the absence of any positive stimulus,” Rakesh Srivastava, Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, HMIL, said.
He said the pressure on volumes will continue till there is significant improvement in macro-economic factors.
Honda Cars India’s sales were also down by 9 per cent during the month as compared to March 2012.
However, Toyota Kirloskar Motor sold 19,452 units, in the domestic market, in the month as compared to 18,220 units in the corresponding month in 2012, registering a 7 per cent growth.
Mahindra and Mahindra also showed some growth in both commercial as well as passenger vehicle sales in March.
But, the 3 per cent additional excise duty on SUVs is a deterrent and by not having a level playing field for all SUVs, it certainly destabilises the market dynamics, said Pravin Shah, Chief Executive, Automotive Division, Mahindra and Mahindra.
Two-wheelers
In the two-wheelers segment, while Japanese subsidiaries Yamaha Motor India and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India did get good sales, home grown companies Hero MotoCorp and TVS Motor saw decline in sales on a year-on-year basis for the month.
While Yamaha and HMSI grew by 20 per cent and 15 per cent respectively, Hero and TVS’ sales were down by 11 per cent each.
“Indian auto industry continues to reel under the adversities of persistent inflation, firm interest rates, rising fuel prices and negative consumer sentiment. All these factors have adversely impacted the growth of the industry and our sales volumes,” Anil Dua, Senior Vice-President (Marketing and Sales), Hero MotoCorp said.
ronendrasingh.s@thehindu.co.in