January 2013 - Car Sales!!

January is known for two things: intense New Year’s celebrations and so called resolutions that we more often than not fail to live up to. Despite holiday hangovers and blizzard conditions, vehicle shoppers went about their own way and snapped up cars.  The top 3 seem to be steadily consolidating their positions, doing what they do best, in a market that remains stagnant and will continue to do so for some more time. The overall scenario can be seen as a positive just for a reason that Jan 2013 is the 2nd best month of this financial year after October 2012. 

Market leader Maruti’s domestic numbers grew 2% over the corresponding period of 2012. However, exports dived noticeably by about 22%. Maruti’s domination, even after all of the world’s brands have arrived in India, is commendable. The Alto, WagonR, Swift & Dzire scale new heights, with three of them recording their highest sales performance in 6 months. Hyundai Motor India, country's second-largest car manufacturer, registered a 4.25% growth in cumulative sales for January 2013. The domestic sales grew 1.2% to 34,302 units compared to 33,900 units last year.  The entry-level Eon moves past the 8,000 mark, but the i20 – Hyundai’s most expensive hatchback – outsells all of its cheaper siblings! The Fluidic Verna & Elantra remain the sedans to beat in the C2 & D1 segment respectively. These two have given the market exactly what it wanted. On the flip side, the Sonata brings back D2 segment nightmares for Hyundai.

Mahindra’s got its foot on the accelerator and there’s no letting back. Reason being launch of one blockbuster UV after another. The Bolero goes from strength to strength and the Scorpio & XUV500 continue to do what they do best. Corssing 4000 and 3500 respectively. 

Though some car makers have felt the heat due to price hike, rise in interest rates and deregulation of diesel price. This led to a 5% fall in total Jan sales (230204 units as compared to 242394 units last year).  The most hit being Tata Motors, Toyota and Ford Motors suffering their worst declines. Sales of Tata Motors fell by over 56% with sales at 15209 against 34669 last year, while that of Ford fell by 34% with respective figures of 6062 and 9137. 

The SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) has predicted 0-1% growth for passenger cars in FY13. SIAM has altered its forecast for the third time from the initial 10-12% estimate made in April and 2-4% in October last year. Experts say that sluggish economic conditions have added to the woes and may push car sales to its weakest growth in nine years. This being the case, the car makers can only expect a revival of sorts with the Union Budget that is set for February 28, hoping for something to be in favourable for the automobile industry which will help them increase their sales.

- DC

Soruce: SIAM, TeamBHP, Economic Times