Price revision post the Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation coupled with new launches have boosted auto sales in July and the auto firms are expecting better sales ahead owing to good monsoon and the upcoming festival season.
In the passenger cars segment, market leader Maruti Suzuki India reported a growth of 22 per cent in its July domestic sales to 1,53,298 units compared with 1,25,764 units in July 2016.
The second largest passenger car manufacturer Hyundai Motor India recorded sales of 43,007 units during the month, up four per cent, against 41,201 units in the corresponding month last year.
Home-grown company Tata Motors also reported growth of 10 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 14,933 units in July compared with 13,547 units in July 2016.
“With an improved customer buying sentiment post GST, we are delighted to record a growth of 10 per cent in the passenger vehicle market, in July. The Tata Tiago continues to witness strong demand, the Tigor and Hexa have also witnessed strong traction in the market," said Mayank Pareek, President, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit, Tata Motors.
Pareek said the company continues to maintain cautious optimism and will work towards turning around the business, in line with its strategy.
Second home-grown firm Mahindra & Mahindra recorded a growth of 21 per cent Y-o-Y to 20,962 units last month against 17,356 units in same month last year.
Subsidiaries of Japanese majors such as Honda and Toyota also reported high growth rates in their sales for the month as compared with sales in July last year.
While, Honda Cars India grew by 22 per cent Y-o-Y (17,085 units against 14,033 units), Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported growth of 43 per cent Y-o-Y (17,750 units against 12,404 units).
Ford India reported growth of 19 per cent Y-o-Y to 8,418 units in July compared with 7,076 units in the same month last year.
In the two-wheelers segment, market leader Hero MotoCorp continued to sell more than six lakh figures, reporting sales of 6,23,269 units during the month, a 17 per cent growth compared with 5,32,113 units in July last year.
Its competitor Honda Motorcycle & Scooter, sold 5,11,939 units in July compared with 4,29,551 units in corresponding month previous year.
Tamil Nadu-based TVS Motor Company reported a growth of six per cent at 2,19,396 units in July against 2,06,605 units in July 2016.
In the commercial vehicles segment, most of the companies saw positive growth led by changes for BS-IV norms and successful GST implementation. While Tata Motors reported a growth of 15 per cent Y-o-Y, M&M and Ashok Leyland recorded a growth of 14 per cent each.
“The benefit of a good monsoon, the successful rollout of GST and a good run up to the festival season, starting from August, give us confidence of continuing a robust growth in second quarter," said Rajan Wadhera, President, Automotive Sector, M&M Ltd.