The automobile sector saw sustained volume growth for the month of February, led by the passenger car segment. Volume growth in commercial vehicles was relatively subdued as February is traditionally a weak month mostly because of the lower number of working days. Volume growth in the 2-wheeler segment was also subdued during the month.

Maruti reported a sharp 61 per cent jump in domestic passenger vehicle sales, mostly aided by a 79.58 per cent rise in sales of premium hatchbacks. Demand for the diesel Swift is reported to be very strong and there is a long waiting period for the model. Sales of sedan models Esteem and Baleno declined by 21.42 per cent as the company has stopped producing the Baleno.

Replacement for the Baleno, based on Suzuki's SX4 concept vehicle, would be announced in this year's Geneva Motor Show and is expected to be launched in the domestic market by the second quarter of next financial year.
Sales of entry level Maruti-800 declined marginally during the month while sales of passenger vans went up sharply by 97.82 per cent.

Hyundai, with a 74 per cent jump in domestic sales for February, bettered the 49 per cent increase reported for the previous month. The company's flagship model Santro achieved a growth rate of 118 per cent in domestic sales to 11,811 units while exports of the model were 8,484 units for the month. The company has launched a diesel version of its premium sedan Sonata Embera.

Passenger vehicle volume growth for Tata Motors was at 19 per cent over the same month of previous year. Sales of the company's flagship model Indica were at 12,580 units – a growth of 19 per cent from a year ago but lower than 14,466 units achieved in Jan 2007.

Tata Motors has introduced its Indigo sedan and Marina station wagon with common rail diesel engines, besides a slightly modified version of the Indica. The upper-end Indigo XL is receiving good response from the market, according to a statement from the company.

Tata Motors has introduced a new concept sedan at the ongoing Geneva International Motor Show. The model is slightly bigger than the company's Indigo sedan and is based on a new platform, which is under development. Company officials said vehicles based on the concept may be launched in future and the next generation Indica and Indigo would carry design cues from the concept.

UV and SUV sales of Tata Motors went up substantially by 41 per cent to 5,306 units, the highest ever-monthly volumes for the company in this segment. SUV model Safari continued to see very good demand and sold 2,009 units, an increase of 258 per cent from a year ago.

M&M sold 2,382 units of SUV model Scorpio in the domestic market and exported 255 units. Monthly sales of the Scorpio were 14 per cent higher than the same month of pervious year, but substantially lower than January 2007. The company launched an upgraded version of the entry-level SUV model Bolero last week. Prices of the new version have been lowered to make the product more competitive in the market. Tractor sales by the company increased 5 per cent to 7,003 units from 6,655 units a year ago, including exports of 553 units.

February is generally a weak month for commercial vehicles sales, before the usual spurt in March. For Tata Motors, commercial vehicle volume growth declined to 22 per cent for the month of February – the lowest monthly growth so far this financial year. On a month-on-month basis, sales of commercial vehicles have declined 3.6 per cent. LCV volume growth was at 25 per cent while medium and heavy commercial vehicles sales went up 19 per cent.

Ashok Leyland's growth rate was much better at 33 per cent over the previous year month. Ashok Leyland is said to be the highest bidder for acquiring a 43 per cent stake in tractor manufacturer Punjab Tractors.

Last week, there were reports that Hyundai is planning an entry into the domestic commercial vehicles segment. The company was said to be considering a new assembly unit in Maharashtra to manufacture 1-tonne trucks. However, the company has subsequently denied these reports.

Bajaj Auto achieved volume growth of 8 per cent in 3-wheelers for the last month, but volumes were much lower than the previous month numbers.

Hero Honda sustained the volume growth for the month of February, though the growth rate was lower than the 19 per cent rise achieved for the previous month. TVS is gearing up to launch a new motorcycle this month. The company achieved a volume growth of 6 per cent in motorcycles and 24 per cent in small scooters. Export growth for the month of February was an impressive 33 per cent.

Bajaj Auto saw a modest decline in February volumes and the company said it was constrained by lack of capacity even as demand remained high. Commissioning of its new motorcycle plant at Pantnagar with a capacity of 1 million units per annum by next month may help ease the situation. The company said development of its new motorcycle platform is progressing well and the models would be launched by the second quarter of next financial year.