Car sales were the slowest ever in India for April 2011, since the last 22 months. The sales of cars were up by only 13.18% because of rising rates of interests as well as decreasing customer confidence. Figures released by the SIAM stated that domestic sales of passenger cars was around 1,62,825 units last month, in comparision to the 1,43,862 units sold in April 2010.
The senior director of SIAM, Sugato Sen, said that the rate of sales growth for April 2011 was the slowest since 22 months ago, when in June 2009 growth rate was 8.23%. He added that as the economic conditions are shaky at the moment, consumer confidence is quite low.
He also added that the hike in interest rates, along with rise in vehicle prices because of increasing commodity prices were the main contributors for delayed auto purchases. The overall sales of vehicles across all categories saw a growth of around 22.80% in April, selling 13,38,564 units in comparision to the 10,90,041 units sold in April 2010.
In the segment of passenger cars, the market leader, Maruti saw sales of 73,905 units, an increase of 7.63%, while rival company Hyundai Motor India saw sales of 31,604 units, an increase of 10.89%. However, Indian auto manufacturer, Tata Motors saw its passenger car sales dip by 1.10% selling around 19,544 units.
Meanwhile, the sales of two wheelers last month stood at 10,43,970 units, an increase of 26.44% in comparision to the 8,25,632 units sold in the same period last year. According to data released by SIAM, the sales of motorcycles in India increased by 23.39% in April 2011, selling 8,09,565 models compared to the 6,56,096 units sold in April 2010.
The market leader in this segment, Hero Honda, witnessed a sales jump of 38.58% selling around 4,69,398 vehicles. Hero’s rival Bajaj Auto also saw its sales jump by 4.24% selling 1,95,971 units. The Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India HSMI saw a decline of 1.35% in sales, selling 57,237 units, however TVS Motor managed to gain 1.62% selling 49,804 vehicles in the same month last year.
The overall sales of the scooter segment increased by 48.06% selling 1,75,054 units compared to the 1,18,232 units sold earlier. The scooter sales of HSMI increased by 79.52% selling 74,432 units, with Hero Honda selling 35,079 units an increase of 48.13%.
TVS Motor saw its sales rise by 29.04% selling 32,464 units during last month. The sales of commercial vehicles were 53,202 units, an increase of 8.22% an increase from the 49,162 units that were sold a year ago in the same period.
