Maruti, Toyota, Ashok Leyland sales fall in Feb, M&M gains
Automobile sales remained mixed in February. While country's largest passenger car maker Maruti Suzuki and Japanese rival Toyota saw sales slip year-on-year, Mahindra & Mahindra saw continued demand for its utility vehicles. Commercial vehicles sales on the other hand remained sluggish.
March 01, 2013 / 19:44 IST
Moneycontrol Bureau
Automobile sales remained mixed in February. While country's largest passenger car maker Maruti Suzuki and Japanese rival Toyota saw sales slip year-on-year, Mahindra & Mahindra saw continued demand for its utility vehicles. Commercial vehicles sales on the other hand remained sluggish.Passenger car sales have taken a hit over the last one year on the back of high fuel prices and expensive loans and that seems to have continued into Feb.Maruti Suzuki's total sales declined 8 percent year-on-year to 1.09 lakh units. While exports rose 3 percent to 11,612 units, domestic sales were down 9 percent to 97,955 units.Sales of the compact DZire sedan continue to see strong demand, dispatches last month were up 22 percent and the multi utility vehicle Ertiga, launched in April 2012, continues to drive UV sales. But all other segments, including mini cars (Alto, A-Star, WagonR, 800), compact cars (Swift, Ritz, Estilo) and Vans slumped.Elsewhere, Toyota Kirloskar Motor's domestic sales declined 23 percent to 12,756 units last month."The market continues to remain sluggish and with the additional excise duty levied on SUV and UV, the market will be further impacted," said Sandeep Singh, Dy MD, Toyota Kirloskar.M&M, meanwhile, continues to see good growth. The country's largest UV maker reported a 11 percent rise in total auto sales in Feb at 47,824 units. Passenger vehicle sales, which includes utility vehicles and the Verito sedan, rose 14 percent to 23,421 units.Its four-wheeler commercial vehicle sales were up 12 percent to 15,167 units. But sales of medium and heavy trucks under Mahindra Navistar were down 20 percent to 1,008 units.Other CV makers too continue to witness sluggish demand for M&HCVs.VE Commercial Vehicles' (a joint venture between Eicher Motors and Sweden's Volvo) sales were down 17 percent to 3,690 units. While light and medium duty truck sales declined 21 percent, heavy duty truck sales fell 6 percent.India's second largest CV maker Ashok Leyland saw its total sales decline 10 percent to 10,046 units. Small truck Dost continues to see strong offtake, sales last month were up 90 percent year-on-year to 3,001 units. But excluding Dost, sales slumped 26 percent.Tata Motors, India's largest truck and bus maker, sold 61,998 vehicles in Feb, which included 58,002 units in the domestic market. While CV sales were at 47,389 units in the domestic market (down 9 percent), passenger vehicle sales were at 10,613 units (down 70 percent).In the two-wheeler space, TVS Motor Co's total sales fell 4 percent year-on-year to 1.66 lakh units in Feb. Its two-wheeler sales were down 5 percent at 1.61 lakh units and three-wheeler rose 57 percent to 4,801 units. Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
