Petrol models sales continue to fall drastically in July 2012 while diesel cars outperforms

Following the turbulence during April-May 2012, the demand for passenger cars witnessed a dip in July 2012 as the ever-rising fuel prices added to the negative sentiments. As per the industry statistics, the sales of petrol cars dipped 26 per cent from the beginning of the year till August 2012, while the demand for the diesel cars continues to grow at a speedy pace.

Petrol models sales continue to fall drastically in July 2012 while diesel cars

 

The leading car makers of the country, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) and Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) reported lukewarm growth in sales for July 2012, which was mainly riding on the back of diesel models. On the front of Maruti Suzuki’s, the car maker will further witness the remarkably slow growth in its sales for more couple of months if the production at its Manesar plant continues to be halted. However, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra also hitchhiked on the diesel cars and reported a significant growth during the period.

In the national circuit, MSIL sold 71,024 units in July 2012 with a growth of 6.8 per cent over 66,504 units sold in corresponding period last year. In the growth of the auto maker, a major role was played by the Swift hatchback and DZire sedan, which witnessed a swell of 73 per cent and 277 per cent in their sales volume, respectively. The figures in the small car segment, comprising Maruti 800, Alto, A-Star and Wagon R, continued to be on the negative side owing to the dearth of demand for petrol cars.

Senior Analyst, Asian Market Securities, Abhishek Banerjee, quoted, “Maruti numbers were a bit disappointing considering the low base of last year. The impact of slowing demand of petrol cars could be more severe than the current lock-out situation the company is facing.”

On the other hand, the second largest car manufacturer of the country, HMIL registered a growth of 7.58 per cent with sales having improved from 25,642 units in July 2011 to 27,585 units in July 2012. Vice-President, National Sales of Hyundai Motor, Rakesh Srivastava, said, “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.”

At the same time, taking the industry by surprise, Tata Motors reported a YoY (Year-over-Year) growth of 53 per cent with sales of 26,240 vehicles in July 2012. The car maker witnessed a boost in the sales of every single product in its portfolio including Tata Nano, Indica range and the whole SUV line-up.

Meanwhile, Mahindra & Mahindra too climbed up the charts to mark a growth of 27 per cent over last year after selling 22,011 units in July 2012 progressing from 17,312 units sold in the corresponding month of the last year. However, other car makers like Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Ford Motor delivered a moderate performance despite having some good product in their diesel line-up. Another car maker that recorded an astonishing growth was the Japanese giant, Nissan, which grew by 118.5 per cent with the deliveries of 3,481 units in the same period. The whooping hike of 118.5 per cent is under the review of 1,593 units sold by the car maker in year-ago period. The major drive behind the massive surge was the Sunny sedan.