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      Auto sales in August 2012 remains healthy for few and disappointing for some

      CarTrade Editorial Team

      CarTrade Editorial Team

      The sales for the month of August 2012 in the Indian auto industry did not seems to have reached the expectations of industry experts, mainly due to economic slowdown and rising fuel prices as well as inflation. Rather, the auto makers which were anticipated to come up with sparkles have end-up with some serious losses. Starting the bandwagon with the domestic sales of India's largest passenger car maker, Maruti Suzuki witnessed a dip of 35 per cent during the month, which happens to be an unfamiliar result for the company.

      The reason cited for the major downfall was the lockout at its Manesar plant, which affected the production of Maruti Suzuki adversely. In August 2012, the auto maker delivered 50,129 units in the domestic turf against the 77,086 units sold in same tenure last year. The overall exports of the auto major stood at 54,154 units, marking a fall of 40.8 per cent against 91,442 units exported in August 2012.

      However, the South Korean auto major Hyundai and domestic player Tata Motors came up with a positive sales chart in August 2012, despite of unfavourable market conditions. Hyundai Motors sold 28,257 units in August 2012, marking an expansion of 5.9 per cent when compared with 26,677 units delivered in the market in August last year. Similarly, Tata Motors also sold 22,311 units with an increase of 33 per cent against 16,829 units sold in corresponding period in year-ago period.

      On the upward movement, Vice President (National Sales) of HMIL, Rakesh Srivastava, quoted, “The overall market demand is suppressed due to general inflationary trend, high fuel prices and interest rates. Unless any major triggers get activated, market sentiment is not expected to improve very much.”

      Auto makers like Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Mahindra & Mahindra and Ford Motors also rejoiced in the monthly sales of August 2012. M&M reported a surge of 19.77 per cent in its domestic sales by selling 42,826 units in August 2012 under the review of 35,756 units sold in year-ago period. On the success of company, Chief Executive (Automotive Division) of M&M, Pravin Shah commented, “The overall sentiment for the auto industry is low which could benefit from a relief in interest rates to boost sales. At Mahindra, we continue to remain cautious and watchful of the situation.”

      Toyota also expanded by 19.83 per cent in August 2012, following with the deliveries of 13,995 units, which was quite impressive for the auto maker. The American auto giant, Ford Motor also mentioned a positive movement in its August 2012 sales as the company delivered 7,840 units during the period with a growth of 6.2 per cent from 7,382 units sold in corresponding period last year. On the success, the President and Managing Director of Ford India, Michael Boneham, commented, “It's wonderful to see consumer sentiment improving as we approach the festive season.”

      On the other hand, few auto makers faced not-so-good times during the period in the Indian auto industry. The American auto manufacturer, General Motors and Japanese company Honda Siel Cars witnessed a dip in their monthly sales. Industry experts believe that the fall in sales of both the auto makers was quite obvious as both of them did not introduced any new model in the market from quite a long time and their existing model line-up needs to be provided with a refreshed look.

      Hyundai