Lower finance, launches put auto sales in top gear

Auto sales continued to rise unabated in July on the back of easier financing opportunities, a slew of new smart car launches and refurbishments of existing models from Nissan, Fiat, Toyota and Hyundai. Maruti Suzuki sold 1,00,857 units in July 2010, an increase of 29%, as compared to 78,074 cars in July 2009. “This is the second time in this fiscal that the company’s monthly sales figure have crossed 1,00,000 units. Domestic sales in July 2010 are also the highest ever in a month,” Maruti Suzuki stated. The carmaker sold 90,114 cars in the domestic market and exported 10,743 cars during the period under review. The company is all set to launch Alto K10 later this week. Hyundai Motor India returned to the number two slot, after being pipped by Tata Motors last month, by selling 50,411 units as against 45,539 units in July 2009, registering a 10.7% growth. The company sold 28,811 units in the domestic market and the rest was exported. “The market continues to be positive and in the next quarter we expect the trend to continue, with the onset of the festive season,” Arvind Saxena, director for sales and marketing, Hyundai Motor India, said.

Tata Motors sold 27,864 units during the month under review, registering an over 50% growth from the same month last year. General Motors sales stood at 7,124 units, an increase of 45% over July 2009. Meanwhile, Ford India’s sales stood at 8,739 units, a four-fold rise when compared to the same month last year. Sales at premium carmaker Honda Siel Cars India continued to be on the lower side dipping 4% to 4,685 cars. Nissan Motor sold 1,005 units with a bulk of the sales coming from its recently launched hatchback Micra. Since the car was official launch in July, it has sold 928 units.

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