November 2018 was not the usual month where car sales were concerned. It is normally seen that during the festive season car sales are at their peak, but that was not the case this year. Rising fuel prices, higher rates of interest, currency fluctuations and an otherwise lower buyer sentiment resulted in weak sales and dismal festive demand.
Such was the scenario that Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors along with Toyota reported marginal decline in sales with only Mahindra reporting nominal growth. We take a look at the top 25 car sales during the past month and compare these with sales in the same month of the previous year.
In the top 6 rankings on the list of top 25 cars, Maruti Suzuki India Limited had the Swift at the top of this list with a 66 percent increase in sales. Sales in November 2018 stood at 22,191 units, up 66 percent as compared to sales in November 2017 when numbers stood at 13,337 units.
This was followed by the DZire with sales down 6 percent to 21,037 units as against 22,492 units sold in November 2017. Baleno sales went up 5 percent from 17,769 units in November 2017 to 18,649 units sold in the past month.
Maruti Alto also noted a significant dip in sales with 18,643 units sold last month as compared to 24,166 units sold in November 2017, a dip of 23 percent. The Vitara Brezza and WagonR also saw lower sales last month at 1 percent and 19 percent respectively.
Maruti Celerio at No. 11 saw sales dip 1 percent from 8,437 units sold in November 2017 to 8,371 units sold in the past month. At No. 13, the Eeco sales increased 10 percent from 6,796 units sold in November 2017 to 7,483 units sold last month. However, Omni at No. 14 saw sales dip 3 percent from 6,769 units sold in November 2017 to 6,570 units sold last month.
Maruti introduced the new Ertiga MPV last month, which resulted in growth of sales from 4,582 units sold in November 2017 to 6,362 units sold in the past month. Sales of Maruti Ciaz, sold via NEXA outlets, also dipped 4 percent from 4,009 units sold in November 2017 to 3,838 units sold last month.
Hyundai Motors India Limited had four cars on the list in 7th to 10th positions. The Hyundai i20 Elite sales increased 3 percent from 10,236 units sold in November 2017 to 10,555 units sold last month. Creta at No. 8, saw sales increase 13% from 8,528 units sold in November 2017 to 9,677 units sold in November 2018 though Hyundai i10 Grand sales dipped 30 percent from 13,249 units sold in November 2017 to 9,252 units sold last month. The new Hyundai Santro also found a place on the list of best sellers in November 2018 with 9,009 units sold in the first month of launch.
Tata Motors found the Tiago and Nexon on this list at Nos. 12 and 20. Tiago sales increased 6 percent from 7,416 units sold in November 2017 to 7,879 units sold last month. Sales of Tata Nexon increased 1 percent from 4,163 units sold in November 2017 to 4,224 units sold last month. With the new 5 Star rating in Global NCAP, Nexon sales are set to surge in the months ahead.
Mahindra had the Bolero, Marazzo and Scorpio on this esteemed list at Nos. 16, 23 and 24. Bolero sales increased 14 percent from 4,911 units sold in November 2017 to 5,582 units sold in November 2018. A total of 3,387 units were sold of the recently launched Marazzo, while sales of Scorpio dipped 21 percent from 3,660 units sold in November 2017 to 2,906 units sold last month.
Toyota Innova Crysta sales dipped 19 percent from 6,673 units sold in November 2017 to 5,425 unit sold last month. Renault Kwid sales dipped 5 percent from 5,726 units sold in November 2017 to 5,419 units sold last month.
Honda Cars had the Amaze and City sedans on the list at Nos. 19 and 22 while the WRV was at No. 25. Amaze sales surged by an astounding 146 percent from 1,976 units sold in November 2017 to 4,854 units sold last month. City sales increased 7 percent from 3,315 units sold in November 2017 to 3,531 units sold in November 2018. Sales of the Honda WRV dipped 21 percent from 3,521 units sold in November 2017 to 2,786 units sold last month.
