- Saturday, April 27, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
LEADING auto-makers in India like Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai and Tata Motors on Sunday (1) reported high double-digit growth in their domestic passenger vehicle sales in July. Other manufacturers like Honda, Nissan, MG Motor and Skoda also reported a healthy growth in their sales the same month.
It has been reported that while Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors rode on stabilisation of macro-economic factors and better consumer sentiments to see a higher growth, the other four benefited from an improved market mood because of lower coronavirus infection rate and despite limited supplies of semi-conductors.
Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest carmaker, saw its domestic sales going up by 39 per cent to 141,238 last month as compared to 1,01,307 in July 2020, according to a statement that it released.
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Sales of its mini cars comprising Alto and WagonR were at 19,685 units as compared to 17,258 units in the corresponding month last year, those in compact segment like Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire were up from 51,529 in July 2020 to 70,268 this July.
Maruti Suzuki India said the sales of its utility vehicles like Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga were at 32,272 units in July, up from 19,177 in the same month in 2020.
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Hyundai Motor India registered a 26 per cent rise in its domestic sales (48,042 units this July as compared to 38,200 in July 2020) and it has been driven by the recently launched Alcazar and other products like Creta, i20 and Venue.
“A positive growth momentum is clearly visible in the passenger vehicle industry with the stabilisation of macro-economic factors, good monsoons and increase in consumer shift towards personal mobility,” Hyundai Motor India Ltd director, sales, marketing & service, Tarun Garg said.
Tata Motors saw its domestic sales in July 2021 at 30,185 units, up from 15,012 units in the same month last year.
MG Motor reported a two-fold rise in retail sales at 4,225 units last month as compared to 2,105 units in July last year. It also saw the highest-ever bookings and retail sales of its ZS EV mode in July.
“A lot of people ask about EV potential in India and my typical answer is: People are ready and they need good solutions/ options from OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). One proof point: We booked all-time high 600+ ZS EV in July alone!!” MG Motor India president and managing director Rajeev Chaba said in a tweet.
MG Motor India director, sales, Rakesh Sidana said models like Hector and ZS EV further gained momentum during the month. “However, the severe shortage of chips is expected to continue for some time and will lead to supply constraints. While we expect overall consumer demand to rise, we should also remain cautious of the potential threats posed by the third wave,” he added.
Honda Cars India Ltd reported a 12 per cent rise in domestic sales at 6,055 units in July as against 5,383 units in the same month last year. “We achieved our production ramp-up from last week of July and have streamlined supplies in line with market activity. Barring few locations, dealer outlets were mostly operational last month, albeit with lesser capacity,” HCIL senior vice-president and director, marketing & sales, Rajesh Goel noted.
He added that the market sentiment has improved amid prevailing lower coronavirus infection rate and expected things to improve with the festive period set to begin.
He, however, said the company would keep a closer watch on the challenges related to the pandemic and rising cost of acquisition of cars due to price hike from this month.
Nissan India also saw a multi-fold jump in its domestic sales at 4,259 units in July, up from 784 units in the same month of last year. “Customer sentiments have improved with the opening of most of the markets,” Nissan Motor India managing director Rakesh Srivastava said, adding that July saw the company achieving its highest sales in the past three years.
“We have increased the production of Magnite with the plants starting third shift operations and are able to serve the pending bookings earlier,” he said. Although the challenge of shortage of semi-conductors and components is continuing, the company is eyeing to reduce the waiting period of Magnite further, he added.
Skoda Auto India reported a healthy increase in sales in July at 3,080 units compared to 922 units in July 2020, propelled by its new compact SUV Kushaq, which was launched in June with the vision of substantially growing its volumes in India.
“It is very encouraging to see our plan taking shape. Despite a challenging environment, we have managed to have a really successful launch, which is in line with our strategic focus and volume expectations,” Skoda Auto India brand director Zac Hollis said in a statement.
