Passenger vehicle sales upbeat in April

The new fiscal has begun on a robust note for the auto industry, having ended FY2017 with a year-on-year growth of 9.23 percent and registering 3 million sales in a year for the first time. After taking a look at the figures for April 2017, it’s clear that new models, refreshed variants and an uptick in consumer sentiment are driving increased sales.

Maruti Suzuki India, in FY2016-17, crossed the 1.5 million sales landmark for the first time ever. In April 2017, the company reported total domestic sales of 1,44,081 units, up 23 percent (April 2016: 117,045). Its entry-level, bread-and-butter duo of the Alto and the WagonR, have sold 38,897 units combined, up 21.9 percent (April 2016: 31,906). Sales of the six compact cars comprising the Swift, Ritz, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire have posted a robust 39 percent growth at 63,584 units (April 2016: 45,700).

Maruti’s new, third-generation Dzire, which will launch on May 18, is likely to accelerate slowing sales of the compact sedan. The Ciaz has gone home to 7,024 buyers, up 23 percent (April 2016: 5,702). The company continues to post high sales in the utility vehicle segment, thanks to surging sales of the Vitara Brezza. Its total utility vehicle sales (Gypsy, Ertiga, S-cross, Vitara Brezza) have gone up 28.6 percent year-on-year to 20,638 units (April 2016: 16,044).

Hyundai Motor India sold 44,758 units in April, a year-on-year growth of 5.7 percent (April 2016: 42,351). Commenting on the April 2017 numbers, Rakesh Srivastava, company director (sales and marketing), said, “Hyundai continued its growth momentum on a strong base of last year driven by a tremendous response for the new Xcent and strong performance of the Grand i10, Elite i20 and Creta.”

Surging demand in India for SUVs is providing new momentum to automakers. Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported strong growth of 52 percent in April 2017 – a total of 12,948 units (April 2016: 8,529). The company attributed this growth to mainly the demand for the new Fortuner. In less than six months of its launch, it sold more than 12,200 units.

Mahindra & Mahindra sold a total of 19,325 vehicles in April 2017, down 15 percent (April 2016: 22,655). Meanwhile, Honda Cars India reported domestic sales of 14,480 units in April 2017, up 38.1 percent (April 2016: 10,486). Honda said it had received a good market response for the recently launched WR-V crossover and new City sedan. While the City has received over 25,000 bookings since its launch in mid-February, the WR-V has seen 12,000 bookings since its launch in mid-March.  

Tata Motors continues to see a resurgence in demand for its passenger vehicles. The company sold a total of 12,827 units in April 2017, a growth of 23 percent (April 2016: 12,230), which is courtesy an encouraging response for its recently launched Hexa and the Tigor. Meanwhile, the Tiago hatchback continues to see a sales rise.

Ford India continued its growth momentum in April with domestic wholesales of 7,618 vehicles, up 16.64 percent (April 2016: 6,531). The carmaker recently introduced sports editions of its Figo hatchback and Aspire compact sedan to boost sales.

Passenger vehicle sales: April 2017