NEW DELHI -- The Indian units of Suzuki Motor Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co.'s affiliate Hero Honda Motors Ltd. on Monday reported higher vehicle sales for July as an expanding economy, a rise in disposable incomes and new models continue to fuel purchases.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the country's largest auto maker by sales, said total car and sport-utility vehicle sales exceeded the 100,000 unit mark for the second time. It posted a 29% rise in total vehicle sales to 100,857 units from 78,074 units a year earlier.
A sales promotion assistant stands between Maruti Suzuki cars in Hyderabad, India, July 22, 2010.
Local sales in July grew 33% to 90,114, the highest-ever in a month. That beat the previous high of 90,041 units reported in May this year. Exports increased about 2% to 10,743 units.
Sales were boosted by a strong demand for its small cars--Alto, Wagon-R, Estilo, Ritz, Swift and A-Star--which grew 33% to 64,079 units from 48,115 a year earlier, the company said.
Indian auto makers are gaining from a steady rise in the purchasing power of consumers, being aided by economic growth, higher incomes and low-cost loans. These companies are also benefiting from new model launches, especially those in the small-car segment, which are driving more consumers to showrooms.
As many as 11 new cars or refurbished variants have been introduced in India since January this year. Most of the new launches have been in the small-car segment such as the Nissan Micra,Volkswagen Polo, Chevrolet's Beat and Maruti's new Wagon-R. Toyota Motor Co. is slated to introduce its small car Etios later this year while Maruti is expected to launch a new variant of its best-selling car, Alto, later this month.
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., India's largest utility-vehicle maker by sales, posted a 24% rise in total vehicle sales to 28,049 units. It sold 16,720 units of its SUVs Scorpio and Bolero, marginally higher than the 16,688 units it sold a year earlier. Exports in the past month more than doubled to 1,296 vehicles from 506, while tractor sales grew 14% to 14,592 units
Hyundai Motor India Ltd. also posted gains in July with total sales climbing to 50,411 units, up 11% from 45,539 a year earlier. Local sales jumped 24% to 28,811 units but exports declined 3% to 21,600 units, it said.
Sales at Hero Honda, the country's largest two-wheeler maker by sales, surged nearly 17% to 427,686 from 366,808 units.
The Indian unit of Nissan Motor Co. sold 1,005 cars in July. It sold 928 units of its small car Micra, which was launched in India July 14. Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd. said it has received bookings for 3,000 Micra cars so far.
Suzuki Motor's two-wheeler unit--Suzuki Motorcycle India Pvt. Ltd.--said its sales surged 48% to 18,512 units.
Tata Motors Ltd. Sunday reported a 62% rise in its car and SUV sales to 27,864 units while truck and bus, sales gained 26% to 35,694 vehicles. Total local sales climbed 39% to 63,558 units.
Two-wheeler makers Bajaj Auto Ltd. and TVS Motor Co. also posted sales growth for July. Bajaj said Sunday its total sales surged 65% to 318,415 units. Motorcycle sales soared 66% to 279,981 units while three-wheeler sales grew 60% to 38,634 units.
TVS' total sales in July rose 35% to 163,106 units from 120,944 units. Local two-wheeler sales went up 33% to 107,883 units while exports were 54% higher at 20,067 units. Three-wheeler sales tripled to 3,108 units from 1,026 units a year earlier, it said Sunday.
