Carmakers are offering attractive discounts and benefits to clear existing inventory, but sales have still been sluggish for most. April 2019 sales figures are not very promising, as most models have registered negative MoM growth. Even the upgrades and new launches have not been spared such as WagonR, Santro, XUV300, Ciaz, Ignis, Civic, etc. The slump can be seen across the spectrum and is not limited to a specific segment.
In the list of top 25 cars by sales numbers, Maruti Suzuki continues to maintain its dominance, grabbing 7 out of top 10 slots. At number one spot is Maruti Alto, registering a MoM growth of 35%. Alto recently received BS-VI compliant engine and its sales have increased from 16,826 in March to 22,766 in April.
Next is Dzire, which has witnessed sales diminish by -7%, down from 19,935 in March to 18,544 units in April. At number three is Baleno, which continues to be the favourite premium hatchback. Baleno sales have increased by 1%, up from 17,264 in March to 17,355 units in April. Swift is at number four with 11% sales growth, while Vitara Brezza and WagonR lose -17% and -30%, respectively.
Hyundai is consistent with its second best carmaker image, as it takes three slots in the top 10 list. However, Creta and Elite i20 have both lost sales by -8% and -14% respectively. Featured at number 10, Grand i10 has beaten prevailing industry trends by registering an impressive growth of 33%. Other Hyundai cars such as Santro and Verna have lost sales to the tune of -17% and -8% respectively.
The only Honda car to be featured in the list is Amaze and it too has lost sales by -22%. Cars that have witnessed significant erosion in sales include Maruti Celerio (-44%), Mahindra Bolero (-38%), Tata Nexon (-29%) and Mahindra Scorpio (-28%). Cars that have dropped out of the list include Honda Civic, which managed to sell only 369 units in April, as compared to 2,291 units in March.
Various reasons are being attributed to falling car sales such as liquidity crunch, lack of affordable credit, fluctuating fuel prices, and increased insurance cost. Some experts also feel that customers are postponing their purchase decisions, as they want to try BS-VI compliant vehicles after April 2020. It is possible that customers don’t want to saddled with old technology cars. A section of customers may also have postponed their purchase, as they wait for more viable options in hybrid and electric car segment.
