It was a mixed bag for auto makers in March

Auto companies have announced their sales figures for the month of March. While a few have clocked in good growth, some have witnessed decline in sale of units. 

Country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Tuesday reported a 5.5 per cent decline in total sales in March at 1,13,350 units as against 1,19,937 units in the same month last year.  

The company said its domestic sales declined  by 5.2 per cent during the month to 1,02,269 units as against 1,07,890 units in March 2013.

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Maruti did not have a good run in March

Sales of mini segment cars, including M800, Alto, A-Star and WagonR, declined by 11 per cent to 40,085 units as compared to 45,047 units in the year-ago month, MSI said in a statement.

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The company said sales of the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz rose by 9.3 per cent to 28,285 units in March this year as against 25,868 units last year.

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MSI said sales of its popular compact sedan Dzire declined by 14.1 per cent during the month under review at 17,237 units as against 20,078 units in March 2013.

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The company's mid-sized sedan SX4 registered a decline of 54.5 per cent to 411 units as against 903 units in the same month last year. There was no sale of premium sedan Kizashi during the month.

Sales of utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Grand Vitara and Ertiga, rose marginally at 6,499 units in March this year from 6,488 units in the corresponding month last year.

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Sales of vans Omni and Eeco rose 2.6 per cent to 9,752 units in March this year as compared to 9,506 units in the same period of the previous year. Exports during the month declined by 8 per cent to 11,081 units as compared to 12,047 units in March last year, MSI said. 

M&M lost pace in March

Auto-maker Mahindra & Mahindra today reported a marginal decline in its total sales at 51,636 units in March.  

M&M had sold 51,904 units in the same month last year, the company said in a statement. In March, M&M's domestic sales stood at 48,490 units as against 49,225 in the same month previous year, down 1.49 per cent.

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Total sales of passenger vehicles, including Scorpio, XUV500, Xylo, Bolero and Verito, stood at 23,433 units during the month as against 25,847 in March 2013, down 9.33 per cent.            

Sales of the company's four-wheel commercial vehicles were up 2.53 per cent at 17,649 units as against 17,212 units in March 2013, it said.

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Sales of the company's four-wheel commercial vehicles were up 2.53 per cent at 17,649 units as against 17,212 units in March 2013, it said.  

M&M's exports were up at 17.43 per cent to 3,146 units during the month from 2,679 units in March 2013. For the entire fiscal 2013-14, the company's sales were at 5,07,176 as against 5,63,373 units in the previous fiscal, down 9.97 per cent.

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Toyota lost steam in March

Toyota Kirloskar Motor  has reported a 56.67 per cent decline in total sales at 9,160 units in March 2014. The company had sold 21,143 units in the corresponding month of previous year, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) said in a statement.  

In the domestic market, TKM sold 8,206 units in March 2014, as compared to 19,452 units in March 2013. During the month, the company exported 954 units of Etios.

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Honda bucked trend

Honda Cars India has reported 83.4 per cent increase in its domestic sales at 18,426 units in March. The company had sold 10,044 units in the same month of the previous year, Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) said in a statement.  

During March, the company sold 1,456 units of its small car Brio, 7,374 units of sedan Amaze and 9,518 units of the premium sedanCity.

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Besides, the company sold 78 units of sports utility vehicle CRV. In addition, the company exported a total of 587 units during the month.

During the fiscal 2013-14, the company reported 83 per cent increase in sales at 1,34,339 units as against 73,483 units during the previous year.             

Giving an outlook for the current fiscal, HCIL Senior Vice-President (Marketing and Sales) Jnaneswar Sen said: "With both manufacturing plants in operation, as well as two new models -- the stylish mid-sized MPV Honda Mobilio and the all-new Honda Jazz -- due for launch this financial year, we look forward to another year of growth."

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He added, "We will increase our dealer network by 35 per cent this year by reaching out to more tier 2 & tier 3 markets which will be instrumental for our growth. The company currently has 170 facilities in 107 cities in its network across the country.

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Merc managed better sales in niche markets

German luxury car maker Mercedes  Benz has reported 27.12 per cent increase in its sales in India in the first quarter of 2014 at 2,554 units.  

The company's wholly-owned arm Mercedes Benz India had sold 2,009 units in the same period last year. Commenting on the sales performance, Mercedes-BenzIndia

Managing Director and CEO Eberhard Kern said: "Our success and robust growth of 27 per cent in the first quarter of 2014 amidst challenging market dynamics is a clear indicator that our customers have appreciated our 'Year of Excellence' strategy,"

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Under the strategy, the company has been focusing on offering customers excellence in products, network, aftersales and unique brand experiences, he added.

Kern said,  "We will continue to create new benchmarks in modern luxury to drive sustainable growth in India.”  

Mercedes-BenzIndia witnessed a robust demand for the new S-Class, ML-Class and GL-Class, all of which are currently wait-listed, even after producing them locally, he said. 

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He further said,  "Additionally, our New Generation Cars portfolio comprising the A-Class and B-Class continues to witness significant demand," Kern said.  The volume drivers of the firm continue to be the C-Class and the new E –Class

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Hyundai recorded fall in sales in March

Hyundai Motor India has  reported 8.37 per cent decline in total sales at 51,708 units for March, 2014. 

It had sold 56,437 units in the same month of last year. In the domestic market, Hyundai sold 35,003 units in last month, as compared to 33,858 units in March, 2013.

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During the month, Hyundai's exports declined by 26 per cent to 16,705 units as against 22,579 units in the same month last year.  

HMIL Sr VP, Sales and Marketing, Rakesh Srivastava said: "Post the reduction of excise duty and with the strong performance in compact segment; Hyundai registered March sales of 35,003 units with a growth of 3.4 per cent over corresponding month indicating a build-up of positive momentum.