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Merc in top gear, other mid-size cars in reverse gear in 1998-99 sales

Mercedes Benz India Limited bucked the recession in the mid-size and luxury passenger car segment to close the 1998-99 fiscal with a nearly 45 per cent surge in sales even as rest of the players, including Maruti Udyog Limited, registered major drop in sales.

Market leader MUL's esteem sales skid by 7.5 per cent during the 1998-99 fiscal even as the mid-size and luxury segment witnessed a 9.9 per cent drop during the period, provisional industry estimates revealed.

During the entire year, 43,069 cars were sold in the segment as against 47,822 units in the previous fiscal. Maruti sold 16,616 units of esteem as against 17,968 units in the previous year.

Mercedes-Benz recorded a nearly 45 per cent surge in sales during the year, having offloaded 500 units in 1998-99 from nearly 345 units a year earlier.

General Motors India Limited was among the major losers in the segment, having recorded a 54.5 per cent drop in sales followed by Hindustan Motors, whose Contessa retails dropped 54.3 per cent. GM's Opel Astra sales stood at 3,429 units at the close of the year from 7,548 units while 519 units of Contessa were offloaded during the year, down from 1,136 units a year ago.

Ford India Limited -- erstwhile Mahindra Ford India Limited -- sold 3,116 units of Ford Escort during the financial year, down 51.6 per cent from 6,451 units a year ago, according to the estimates.

Daewoo Motors India Limited registered a 47 per cent drop in sales during the year at 5,324 units from 10,109 units a year earlier while sales of Telco's Sierra and Estate slipped by 42 per cent from 1,736 units in 1997-98 to 1,003 units in 1998-99.

PAL-Peugeot, which has already closed shop in India, sold 133 units of its Peugeot 309 cars as against 1,309 units a year ago.

Another new entrant in the segment -- Mitsubishi Motors -- sold 2856 units of its Lancer car since its launch in October 1998. During March, it sold around 750 units of the car.

UNI

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