Why Indian car sales are going through the roof

With the Union Budget just round the corner, India's automobile sector seems to have registered highly impressive sales in January.

Most of the auto majors put in a commendable show. Last year, too, was particularly good for Indian carmakers. A number of new launches across the board and healthy sales figures throughout the year werethe highlights of 2010.

"Demand for vehicles continues to surpass supply. This is despite the fact that most auto majors have hiked prices, passing on the cost impact to the consumers owing to the high commodity prices and changes in the emission norms," Angel Broking analyst Vaishali Jajoo wrote in a recent report while analysing the steady growth in car sales.

"A normal monsoon season, improving consumer sentiment and an overall recovery in the economy should benefit auto sales," Macquarie analyst Sanjay Doshi said in a research note a few months back.

Some other factors which experts say have helped boost automobile sales are:

• Some buyers are most likely trying to beat a possible price hike after the Budget.
• With the financial year end just a couple of months away, many businessmen/companies buy cars around this time to claim depreciation benefits.
• Easy car loans, rising consumer aspirations and the propensity to spend on what was once a luxury has made car sales rise too.
• A plethora of alluring cars/models are available now.
• Rising disposable incomes have made it possible for people to own cars much more easily these days.

Click NEXT to know how major car companies performed . . .

Source: CarDekho.com and PTI

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Maruti Suzuki India on Tuesday reported a 14.73 per cent jump in sales during January, 2011, to 1,09,743 units.

Sales in the same month of the previous year stood at 95,649 units, Maruti Suzuki India  said.

The company's sales in the domestic market stood at 1,00,422 units in January, 2011, a 23.84 per cent increase from 81,087 units in the year-ago period, it added.

MSI's exports in January, 2011, however, fell by 35.99 per cent to 9,321 units from 14,562 units in the same month last year, the company said. Sales of the company's M800 model also declined by 24.77 per cent to 1,876 units from 2,494 units in January, 2010, the statement said.

Sales in the A2 segment (comprising the Alto, WagonR, Estilo, Swift, A-Star and Ritz models) witnessed a 23.81 per cent jump to 72,479 units in January, 2011, compared to 58,540 units in the same month a year ago.

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A3 segment sales (consisting of the SX4 and DZiRE models) increased by 32.6 per cent to 11,930 units from 8,995 units in the corresponding period a year ago, the company said.

The company has witnessed record sales of over 10 lakh (1 million) units in the first ten months of this fiscal, with 10,37,408 units finding buyers, compared to 8,26,592 units in the year-ago period, a smart 25.5 per cent increase.

Two-wheeler maker Suzuki Motorcycle India on Tuesday reported 40 per cent growth in January sales to 28,598 units.

In the same month last year, the company had sold 20,448 units, Suzuki Motorcycle India said.

A subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan, Suzuki Motorcycle India has scooter and motorcycle models like Access 125, SlingShot, GS150R, Hayabusa 1300 and Bandit 1250S in its portfolio.

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Hyundai Motor India has reported a dip of 17.7 per cent in total sales during January 2011.

The company sold 43,316 units in January 2011 a dip of 17.7 per cent as against 52,628 units sold in the same month of the previous year, Hyundai Motor India said.

Domestic sales witnessed a marginal increase of 30,306 units in January 2011 as against 29,601 units in January 2010.

However, exports witnessed negative growth of 43.5 per cent last month, with sales of 13,010 units as against 23,027 sold in January 2010.

"Hyundai continues to be on a steady growth path riding on the strong performance of its compact cars. We expect the domestic market to continue to grow although the rate might come down to low double digit this year", Hyundai Motor India director - marketing and sales Arvind Saxena said.

The company in January 2011 sold 39,343 units of Santro, i10 and i20, 3,957 units of Accent and Verna, 11 units of Sonata Transform and five units of Santa Fe, he said. Hyundai Motor India currently has two manufacturing facilities at nearby Sriperumbudur. It has a capacity of producing six lakh units a year.

The company exports to over 110 countries, the copy added.

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Chennai-based TVS Motor Company on Tuesday reported a 30 per cent jump in January sales to 165,152 units.

The company had registered sales of 127,288 units in the corresponding month of 2010, TVS Motor Company said in a statement.

The firm's two-wheeler sales increased by 29 per cent in January, 2011, to 161,725 units, compared to 125,578 units in the same month of the previous year, it added.

Motorcycle sales of the company rose by 24 per cent in January this year to 67,721 units from 54,698 units in the year-ago period, it said.

Scooter sales grew by 60 per cent in January, 2011, to 40,736 units, as against 25,509 units in the same month last year.

Domestic two-wheeler sales in January, 2011, stood at 142,227 units, up 30 per cent in comparison to 109,504 units in the same month of 2010.

The company said two-wheeler exports rose to 19,498 units during the month from 16,074 units in January, 2010.

Three-wheeler sales also saw a two-fold increase to 3,427 units last month from 1,710 units in the same month of 2010, the company added.

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Driven by the huge demand for hatchback 'Figo', Ford India has reported a four-fold increase in January 2011 at 10,026 units against 2,453 units sold over the same period of last year.

By reaching the 10,000-unit monthly sales milestone, Ford has surpassed its previous monthly record of 9,478 units sold in March 2010, Ford India said.

The company had sold 8,600 units of Figo alone in January, making it the hatchback's best sales performance since its launch in March 2010.

"Year 2010 was a landmark year for us, with Ford nearly tripling its annual sales volume.

"We have carried the momentum of last year's terrific performance into the new year by crossing the 10,000-unit sales mark," Ford India managing director Michael Boneham said.

In 2010, Ford India had sold a total of 83,887 units, a jump of 184 per cent against the corresponding units sold in the same period in 2009.

The statement said that since its launch in March 2010, the Figo alone had sold 68,000 units.

"It's extremely gratifying to see Figo resonating with customers as a great value for money vehicle. It is also heartening to see Figo winning so many prestigious awards in the automobile industry," Boneham added.

At Ford's manufacturing facility in Maraimalai Nagar, Ford India manufactures Endeavour, Ikon, Fiesta and the Figo. It employs about 5,000 persons at the facility.

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Czech premium carmaker SkodaAuto on Tuesday reported a 50.19 per cent growth in sales of its vehicles at 2,825 units in January 2011.

The company had sold 1,881 units in the corresponding period last year, SkodaAuto India said in a statement.

"The year 2011 has started on a very positive note. Our sales increase of 51 per cent is testimonial for our future growth plan in India," SkodaAuto India board member (sales and marketing) Thomas Kuehl said.

The company currently sells four models in India -- Superb, Laura, Fabia and Yeti.

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Two-wheeler maker India Yamaha Motor on Tuesday reported 27.62 per cent increase in its total sales in January 2011 at 28,597 units.

The company had sold 22,408 units in the same month last year, India Yamaha Motor said in a statement.

In the domestic market, the company's sales stood at 21,974 units as against 17,598 in the same month last year, up 24.87 per cent.

Exports of India Yamaha rose by 37.69 per cent to 6,623 units from 4,810 units in the year-ago period, it added.

"The year 2010 has been a favourable year for us and we are upbeat about continuing with a strong show this year as well.

With the launches of SZ, SZ-R, SZ-X, and YBR 125 last year, we are well-positioned to increase our presence in the Indian market," India Yamaha Motor director (sales and marketing) Koji Arai said.

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Driven by good numbers from its compact hatchback car Micra, Nissan Motor India said on Tuesday it has registered highest ever monthly sales in January this year at 1,857 units, up from 40 units in the same month of 2010.

The company sold 1,784 units of Micra during the month, which is also the highest sales for the car in a single month since its launch in July 2010, Nissan said.

Since the launch, Nissan has sold 8,225 units of Micra in the country. Nissan's SUV Nissan X-trail saw sales of 52 units in January this year, up from 10 units in the same month last year.

The company, however, saw a decline in sales of its luxury sedan Teana at 21 units during January 2011, as against 30 units in the same month last year, the statement added.

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Bajaj Auto on Tuesday reported an 18 per cent jump in sales during January, 2011, driven by smart growth in demand for the company's popular Pulsar and Discover motorcycle models.

The company sold 3,13,583 units during the month, with Pulsar and Discover constituting 68 per cent of the total volume, Bajaj Auto said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Bajaj Auto had reported sales of 2,66,018 units in January, 2010, the company said.

In the motorcycles segment, the company sold 2,75,622 units in January, 2011, an 18 per cent increase from 2,32,939 units in the same month of the previous year, it said.

Furthermore, Bajaj Auto's commercial vehicle sales grew by 15 per cent to 37,961 units in January, 2011, from 32,969 units in the year-ago period.

In addition, the company witnessed a a 44 per cent jump in exports during the month.

The company sold 1,03,526 units in overseas markets in January, 2011, as against 71,695 units in the same month of the previous year.

During the April-January period, the company clocked a 38 per cent jump in total sales to 3,189,339 units, as against 2,309,625 units in the corresponding 10-month period of the previous financial year.

Shares of Bajaj Auto zoomed up by 1.25 per cent to Rs 1,261.90 apiece in early trade on the BSE on Tuesday.

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