Car, two-wheeler sales up; Bajaj the only loser

02 March 2009

Most Indian auto makers led by market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd today reported a continued rise in monthly sales for February, driven mainly by discounts, as four-wheeler and two-wheeler companies announced their February sales numbers.

Four-wheeler giant Maruti Suzuki's February sales were up at 79,190 units as against 63,822 units on a year-on-year basis. This represents the sharpest rise in percentage terms in the fiscal year. February was the third consecutive month of rising sales for Maruti, India's largest carmaker by sales. Sales last fell 18 per cent in November from October's 64,490 units.

Maruti, a unit of Suzuki Motor Corp, also said sales and exports in February were the highest for a month since the company began operations in December 1983. The company exported 8,565 cars, mainly comprising the new A-Star small car model.

Maruti Suzuki chairman R C Bhargava said the worst seems to be over and that the next fiscal will be positive. He, however, added that growth might be in the low single digits, rather than the 10–12 per cent growth might not happen.

Two-wheeler major Hero Honda's February sales were up 24 per cent to 3.29 lakh units versus 2.65 lakh units last year. TVS Motor reported that February sales were up 13 per cent at 107,301 units versus 95,235 units last year, up 14 per cent on a month-on-month basis. Its exports were up 32.4 per cent.

"Our new launches have been driving strong volumes across geographies, further consolidating our more than 56 per cent in the domestic motorcycle market," Anil Dua, senior vice-president for marketing and sales at Hero Honda Motors said in a statement on Sunday.