Hyundai, M&M sales down; Maruti's up 12%

Hyundai Motor India Ltd on Tuesday reported a 3.99 per cent decline in its total sales in September at 51,418 units as against 53,557 in the same month last year.

The company's domestic sales stood at 30,601 units during the month, marginally down from 30,851 units in September 2012, HMIL said in a statement.

Exports during the month declined by 8.31 per cent to 20,817 units from 22,706 units in the same month last year, it added.

Commenting on the sales, HMIL senior vice-president, sales and marketing, Rakesh Srivastava, said: "In the current market scenario, volume growth is a big challenge. Last month, we launched our new model Grand in the midst of slowdown and have received phenomenal response from our customers."

"We expect the market challenges to continue and have a cautious optimism for upcoming festive season," Srivastava added.

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Country's largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Tuesday reported 11.7 per cent increase in total sales in September at 1,04,964 units as against 93,988 units in the same month last year.

The company said its domestic sales increased by 1.8 per cent during the month to 90,399 units as against 88,801 units in September last year.

Sales of mini segment cars, including M800, Alto, A-Star and WagonR, increased by 4.9 per cent to 41,061 units, as compared to 39,150 units in the year-ago month, MSI said in a statement.

The company said sales of the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz rose by 16.9 per cent to 20,828 units in September this year as against 17,813 units last year.

MSI said sales of its popular compact sedan Dzire rose by 42.9 per cent during the month under review at 16,708 units as against 11,694 units in September, 2012.

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The company's mid-sized sedan SX4 registered an increase of 31.3 per cent to 378 units as against 288 units in the same month last year. There was no sale of premium sedan Kizashi during the month.

Sales of utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Grand Vitara and Ertiga, stood at 2,657 units in September this year, down 63.2 per cent from 7,224 units in the corresponding month last year.

Sales of vans -- Omni and Eeco -- declined by 30.5 per cent to 8,767 units in September this year as compared to 12,620 units in the same period of previous year.

Exports during the month surged nearly three-fold to 14,565 units as compared to 5,187 units in September last year, the statement added.

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Auto-maker Mahindra & Mahindra on Tuesday reported a 10.45 per cent decline in its total sales at 43,289 units in September, 2013.

The company had sold 48,342 units in the same month last year, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) said in a statement.

In September this year, M&M's domestic sales stood at 40,574 units as against 45,263 units in the same month last year, down 10.35 per cent.

Total sales of passenger vehicles, including Scorpio, XUV500, Xylo, Bolero and Verito, stood at 18,916 units as against 23,808 units in September, 2012, 20.54 per cent.

Sales of the company's four-wheel commercial vehicles were up 2 per cent at 14,709 units as against 14,417 units in September, 2013, it said.

Its three-wheelers sales were up by 5.86 per cent to 6,403 units during September, 2013 from 6,048 units in the same month last year.

M&M's exports too were down by 11.88 per cent to 2,715 units during the month from 3,079 units in September, 2012.

Commenting on the sales performance, M&M chief executive (automotive division) Pravin Shah said: "While there has been a growth over August 2013, it is not to the extent that makes us comfortable, especially as we approach the festive season."

Factors such as increase in input and raw material costs and the depreciating rupee have not helped, he added.

"To compensate to some extent we have taken a price increase effective today. The auto industry is definitely in need of a trigger in terms of a stimulus to boost consumer sentiments leading to a turnaround in the sector as well as a revival of the economy in general," he added.

Last week, the company had announced plans to hike the prices of its passenger cars and commercial vehicles by Rs 6,000 to Rs 20,000 from October 1.