Maruti Suzuki India Limited – Total sales were up by 15% in February 2018 reaching a total of 1.5 lakh units while exports grew by 24.9%. Total sales for February 2018 stood at 1,49,824 units, an increase of 15% over 1,30,280 units sold in February 2016. This increase in sales was primarily due to the new generation Swift hatchback which was showcased and launched at the 2018 Auto Expo in Greater Noida.
Domestic sales of Maruti Suzuki stood at 1,37,900 units in the past month as against 1,20,599 units sold in February 2017, an increase of 13.3% while exports increased 24.9% with 11,924 units exported as compared to 9,545 units exported in February 2017.
The new generation Swift hatchback has seen bookings to the extent of 60,000 to date and deliveries have already commenced. The compact segment, with cars such as the Swift, Ignis, Celerio, Baleno and DZire, also saw a significant increase in demand to the extent of 38.7% with sales crossing the 65,000 mark. The Mini segment, which included the Alto and WagonR grew marginally by 2.1% while sales of the Ciaz dipped by 16% in February 2018 with just 4,897 units sold as compared to 5,886 units sold in February 2017.
Tata Motors – Domestic sales of Tata Motors increased by 38% during February 2018. The company sold 58,993 units in the past month as against 42,679 units sold in February 2017. Sales of passenger vehicles were up 45% from 12,727 units sold in February 2017 to 17,771 units sold last month with increased sales of both Tiago and Tigor. The Nexon and Hexa in the UV segment contributed 165% growth in sale.
Exports on the other hand dipped 3% to 4,768 units exported in February 2018. Tata Motors however also noted a significant growth in the commercial vehicle segment registering growth to the extent of 36%. The automaker sold 41,222 commercial vehicles in February 2018 as against 30,407 units in February 2017. The increased sales in this segment were due to added demand due to industrial development, fresh tenders in car carriers and coal movement besides from the petroleum sector and from construction and logistics.
Also See – Tata E Vision Concept unveiled
Hyundai India sales increased 5.1% in February 2018. The company sold a total of 55,422 units during the past month as against 52,734 units sold in February 2017. Domestic sales grew 5.1% with 44,505 units sold as compared to 42,327 units sold in February 2017 while exports increased 4.9% with 10,917 units exported in February 2018 as against 10,407 units exported in the same month of the previous year. It was the Hyundai Verna and Creta that received much attention and the company also launched i20 Facelift at the 2018 Auto Expo and also showcased its Kona SUV concept and Ioniq electric car for the first time. The Hyundai Creta Facelift is also awaited which is set to make its debut in India later this year.
Honda Cars – Honda Cars India registered a dip in sales to the extent of 18% during February 2018. The company sold 11,650 units in February 2018 as compared to 14,248 units in February 2017. The company’s three major selling models – City, WR-V and Jazz saw sales of 3885 units, 3,364 units and 2,257 units but sales of the Honda Amaze dropped to just 933 units in the past month. Sales of the BR-V and Brio were also lower than expected.
However, Honda India made up in cumulative sales registering growth of 13% with 1,56,452 units sold during April to February 2018 as against 1,38,363 units sold during the same period in the previous year.
Toyota Kirloskar Motors – Total sales of Toyota Kirloskar Motors increased by 4.88% in February 2018. The company sold 12,705 units in February 2018 as compared to 12,113 units in the same month of the previous year. Domestic sales increased 3% from 11,543 units sold in February 2017 to 11,864 units sold in the past month. Exports of the company increased substantially by almost 48% from 570 units exported in February 2017 to 841 units exported in February 2018.
Toyota had a range of cars on display at the 2018 Auto Expo of which the 2018 Yaris sedan was the star attraction. The new Yaris sedan will go on sale in India in May 2018 and it boasts of 12 first in class features. Toyota also plans to enhance its focus on the Fortuner, Innova Crysta and Corolla.
Mahindra and Mahindra – M&M registered a 19% increase in total sales in February 2018. Total sales during the past month stood at 51,127 units as compared to 42,826 units sold in February 2017. Taking only domestic passenger vehicle sales into account, the company sold 22,389 units in February 2018 as against 20,717 units in February 2017, a growth of 8%. Commercial vehicle sales increased substantially by 28% in February 2018 from 16,383 units sold in February 2017 to 20,946 units sold in the past month. Total exports increased by 15% from 2,300 units exported in February 2017 to 2,654 units exported last month.
M&M had a host of offerings at the 2018 Auto Expo among which were the KUV100 electric and the new Ssangyong Rexton-based Mahindra Premium SUV (XUV700) all of which will be launched later this year or by early 2019.
Ford India – Ford India sales dipped marginally in February 2018. The company registered a de-growth of 1% with 23,965 units sold in February 2018 as compared to 24,026 units sold in February 2017. Domestic wholesales on the other hand grew by 8% to 9,041 units as against 8,338 units sold in the same month of the previous year. Exports also dipped by 5% from 15,688 units exported in February 2017 to 14,924 units exported in the past month.
It is expected that the new Ford EcoSport facelift, showcased at the 2018 Auto Expo will bring on more sales for Ford India during the rest of the year. Ford India has also announced a price increase across range by upto 4% from March 1, 2018 following the government’s decision to hike import duty on auto components.
