Domestic car sales dip 8%, SIAM pins hope on new govt

Car sales in India declined for second month in succession with an 8.15 per cent drop in November because of drying up of demand after the festive season.

With no signs of economic revival under the current political circumstances, SIAM said it expected a turnaround in the fortune of the auto industry only after a new government is formed after the general elections next year.

According to the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, domestic passenger car sales in November stood at 1,42,849 units as compared to 1,55,535 units in the same month last year.

"We are going through a challenging phase. We anticipated that the November sales will decline after the festive season demand dries up. We knew that the high demand during the festivities were unsustainable under the current economic conditions," SIAM Deputy Director General Sugato Sen told reporters.

He further said beyond factors such as high interest rates and fuel prices that were the bane for auto sales for months, the overall situation of the economy and low consumer sentiments have greatly affected demand for automobiles.

"The current situation is unlikely to change till the time a new government comes.

"At this stage, this government cannot do anything spectacular to bring about a revival," Sen said.

In November, car market leader Maruti Suzuki India posted 4.22 per cent decline in its domestic sales at 71,649 units as against 74,793 units in the year-ago month.

Rival Hyundai Motor India saw its sales dip by 3.66 per cent to 33,427 units as compared to 34,698 units in November last year.

While Tata Motors saw its car sales drop by 41.57 per cent to 7,910 units in November as against 13,538 units last year, Honda Cars India had 150.87 per cent jump in sales to 9,310 units on the back of its compact sedan Amaze, up from 3,711 units in the year-ago

month.

Utility vehicles major Mahindra & Mahindra also saw its domestic sales decline by 30.46 per cent to 16,249 units in the month from 23,369 units in the same month last year.

According to SIAM, motorcycle sales in November grew by 1.44 per cent to 8,80,015 units from 8,67,508 units in the same month previous year.

Market leader Hero MotoCorp saw its sales grow by 5 per cent to 4,65,505 units in November from 4,43,308 units in the same month last year.

Rival Bajaj Auto saw its bike sales decline by 28.42 per cent to 1,62,616 units as compared to 2,27,186 units in the year-ago month.

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India posted 44.1 per cent growth in its bike sales at 1,42,798 units as compared to 99,062 units in November last year.

As per the SIAM figures, total two-wheeler sales in November 2013 grew by 5.55 per cent to 12,40,732 units from 11,75,441 units in the same period of previous year.

Scooter sales during the month stood at 3,05,586 units, up 25.03 per cent from 2,44,414 units in the same month last year.

Scooter market leader HMSI posted sales of 1,63,679 units in November, up 48.29 per cent, from 1,10,376 units in same period of last year.

Hero MotoCorp posted sales of 54,932 units last month, a rise of 24.28 per cent, from the same period of 2012.

TVS Motors reported 2.15 per cent rise in sales of scooters during last month at 36,610 units.

Total sales of commercial vehicles were down by 28.78 per cent to 43,730 units from 61,403 units in the year-ago period, SIAM said.

Sen said opening of mining activities and infrastructure projects could at least bring some hope for the battered commercial vehicles segment.

Total sale of vehicles across categories registered a growth of 0.90 per cent to 15,26,438 units in November 2013 as against 15,12,869 units in the same month of 2012, it added.