Muted demand and weak consumer sentiments were noted through the month of January 2019. It was Maruti Suzuki, Honda and Fiat that reported increased growth while all other automakers noted flat or negative sales. Launch of new cars like WagonR, Baleno and Harrier failed to deliver positive sales for the respective maker. While registered sales of 1,380 units; thereby pushing Nissan in the green.
Maruti Suzuki India Limited retailed its pole position with 7 percent growth. The company sold 1,15,648 units in January 2019 as compared to sales of 1,07,605 units in January 2018. Maruti Suzuki Models sold via NEXA showrooms saw a notable dip of 25 percent from 32,584 units sold in January 2018 to 23,792 units sold in the past month. This took total sales of Maruti Suzuki and NEXA up just 0.2 percent from 1,39,189 units sold in January 2018 to 1,39,440 units sold last month.
Hyundai sales increased 1 percent with a total of 45,803 units sold in January 2019. This was as compared to 45,508 units sold in the same month of the previous year. Hyundai had also announced a price hike across its product range by up to Rs. 30,000 from 1st January 2019 citing higher input costs along with other macro economic factors such as rise in petrol prices and higher interest rates.
Mahindra and Mahindra, leading SUV makers in India, posted 1 percent growth in domestic sales with 23,872 units sold in January as compared to 23,686 units sold in the same month last year. New launches such as the Marazzo and Alturas did add to the sales, but failed to push overall sales, with the company posting flat growth with a total of 22,399 units sold in January 2019 as against 22,360 units sold in January 2018.
Honda Cars saw a dramatic increase in sales in January 2019. The company sold 18,261 units during the past month as against 14,838 units sold in January 2018. Exports stood at 200 units. These outstanding sales could be attributed to that of the new Honda Amaze and City sedan.
Tata Motors sales dipped 13 percent in January 2019. During the past month, the company reported sales of 17,404 units, down from 20,055 units sold in January 2018. Tata Motors launched the Harrier in January 2019 which has received good response in the markets. Its positive effect is expected in the months ahead.
Toyota also suffered a drop in sales in January 2019 by as much as 13 percent. The company sold 11,221 units in January 2019 as against sales of 12,351 units in January 2018. The company had hiked prices by 4 percent from 1st January 2019 to offset increased manufacturing costs. The company had been absorbing these costs till date but decided to pass on a percentage of this increase to its customers.
Ford sales also dipped by 19 percent in January 2019 when the company sold 7,700 units through the month as compared to sales of 9,450 units in January 2018. The company had also increased prices in January by 2.5 percent citing increase in commodity prices and foreign exchange rates.
Renault India also saw a 16 percent fall in sales in January 2019. Total sales during the past month stood at 5,825 units as compared to sales of 6,919 units in January 2018. For 2019, the company has announced launch of a new car in the 7 seater MPV segment that is codenamed RBC as on date. It is slated to come in priced between Rs.7-10 lakhs to take on the Mahindra Marazzo and Maruti Suzuki Ertiga.
Nissan on the other hand noted a dramatic increase in sales in January 2019. Sales during the past month increased 55 percent from 966 units sold in January 2018 to 1,500 units sold in the past month. Nissan Motors India launched the new Kicks premium SUV in India on January 22, 2019 which is expected to take on the Tata Harrier, Hyundai Creta and Renault Captur in the highly popular SUV segment.
Datsun India sales fell from 3,242 units in January 2018 to 1,646 units in January 2019 while taking Nissan and Datsun sales together, sales dipped 25.2 percent in January 2019 to 3,146 units.
Volkswagen also saw sales dip 18% to 2,803 units in January 2019 as compared to sales of 3,401 units in January 2018. Jeep sales also fell in January 2019 by as much as 40 percent from 2,106 units sold in January 2018 to 1,267 units sold last month. Fiat India noted a 33 percent increase in sales to 60 units in January 2019 as against 45 units sold in the same month of the previous year. Skoda India sales fell 3 percent to 1,232 units.
