The passenger car sales in Indian auto market declined by 4.52 per cent, amounting to 1,32,561 units, in December 2013 as against 1,38,835 units delivered in the year-ago period. As per the figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the demand for motorcycles reduced by 4.24 per cent to 8,08,281 units in comparison from 8,44,046 units sold in December 2012. On the contrary, the total sales of two-wheeler stood at 11,63,465 units, marking an increase of 2.32 per cent, under the review of 11,37,081 units delivered in corresponding period of 2012.
In commercial vehicle segment, total sales stood at 46,757 units during the period with a fall of 25.53 per cent against 62,786 units sold in year-ago period. Across all categories, the total sales of vehicles in the Indian auto market reported a fall of 1.21 per cent, 14,31,632 units, from 14,49,203 units sold in December 2012.
Coming back to car sales, there were few companies that reported an increase in their respective statistics. Interestingly, the country's leading passenger car makers, Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai India came up with single-digit growth in domestic figures, during the month. In an official statement, Maruti Suzuki said that it sold 86,613 units in December 2013, reporting an increase of 5.5 per cent against 82,073 units delivered in previous year's period. Its growth was mainly dedicated towards the demand for mini passenger cars, like Alto, A-Star and WagonR, which increased by 16.7 per cent at 38,286 units in comparison from 32,797 units sold in December 2012. The demand for compact sedan Swift DZire increased by 18 per cent to 15,427 units as against 13,076 units delivered in December 2012.
Notably, the demand for Hyundai models also recorded an increase of 6.24 per cent in domestic sales. The company sold 28,345 units in December 2013 against 26,697 units delivered in year-ago period. Expressing his delight at this performance, the company's senior Vice President (Sales and Marketing) Rakesh Srivastava was quoted as saying, “2013 was a very challenging year and rewarding too... Manufacturing operated at 99 per cent capacity utilisation and our company had the fastest 5 million roll-out in India.” Sources close to the company have stated that in 2014, the South Korean auto maker is planning to launch a number of new models to further consolidate its position.
On the other hand, owing to the prolonged slump in Indian market, several auto companies, like Toyota, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ford and General Motors, reported a fall in their domestic sales. The domestic sales of Mahindra & Mahindra’s dwindled by 12.82 per cent as the figures stood at 36,881 units against 42,307 reported in the same month of 2012. Speaking on the same, the Chief Executive Officer (Automotive Division) of Mahindra & Mahindra, Pravin Shah said, “During the first nine months of the current fiscal, the auto industry has seen a negative growth due to sustained deceleration in economic activity and consequent weakness in consumer and business sentiments,”
On similar lines, the American auto maker Ford also reported a fall of 9.9 per cent to 5,871 units in the Indian market during December 2013, against 6,517 units delivered in the same month of 2012. The Executive Director (Marketing, Sales and Service) for Ford India, Vinay Piparsania was quoted as saying, “Despite difficult economic and business environment, 2013 has been a remarkable and rewarding year for Ford in India...we are excited to conclude the year with our products finding greater acceptance from customers and media.”
