Motown Sales Drive Over Fuel Price Hike Bumps in May

Motown Sales Drive Over Fuel Price Hike Bumps in May

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Steel Insights Bureau

Withstanding the constant fuel price hike, India’s top auto makers’ May sales moved northward in the second month of the new fiscal. Positive sales during the month were propelled by economic growth, infrastructure development and predictions of a good monsoon ahead.

The country’s largest passenger car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSI), sold 172,512 units in May 2018, registering a massive 26 percent growth year-on-year. The company had sold 136,962 units in May 2017.

Domestic sales grew by 24.9 percent year-on-year to 163,200 units while export sales jumped 48.1 percent to 9,312 units in May 2018. The compact car segment registered a healthy 50.8 percent growth in May, wherein it sold 77,263 units during the month against 51,234 units in the same month last year. The big growth was led by the compact segment which includes the likes of the Celerio, Ignis, Baleno, Dzire and the recently-launched Swift.

The passenger vehicles segment sales grew by 25.4 percent, driven by compact cars, but the decline in the mini (Alto, WagonR) and mid-size (Ciaz) segments restricted growth. Sales of utility vehicles (which include Vitara Brezza, Ertiga) jumped 13.4 percent to 25,629 units while the vans segment registered a 32.7 percent growth with sales figures of 16,717 units, driven by the Eeco.

MSI’s light commercial vehicle sales increased sharply to 1,703 units in May 2018, from 428 units sold in the same month last year. However, the small hatchback segment saw a drop of 3.1 percent as compared to May last year with the Alto and WagonR sales slowly starting to show signs of a slowdown as Indian car buyers move to higher segments.

The second-largest carmaker, Hyundai Motor India (HMIL), registered 11.44 percent growth in May 2018, delivering a total of 56,016 units against 50,265 units in May 2017.