India's top auto makers continued to gain from robust demand for
new vehicles in January, notching up higher sales despite an
increase in prices to offset higher input costs.
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. (532500.BY), Tata Motors Ltd.
(500570.BY) and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (500520.BY) sold
15%-25% more cars in the month, when compared with a year
earlier.
The Indian units of Ford Motor Co. (F), Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE)
and General Motors Co. (GM) reported strong sales as well,
primarily backed by higher demand for their small car models.
But Hyundai Motor Co.'s (005380.SE) local unit posted a sales
volume fall.
Overall economic growth, a wide range of new car models, higher
personal incomes and easier availability of loans have been key
growth drivers in India, one of the fastest-growing automotive
markets in the world.
Maruti Suzuki, India's largest car maker by sales, said it sold
109,743 vehicles in January, up 15% from a year earlier. Local
sales at the Indian unit of Suzuki Motor Corp. (7269.TO) increased
24% to 100,422 vehicles, but exports fell 36% to 9,321 units.
The company sold 72,479 small cars--its bread-and-butter
segment--during the month, up 24% from a year earlier. It sells
several small car models including the Alto, Swift and A-Star.
Rival Hyundai Motor India Ltd.'s sales fell 18% to 43,316
vehicles. Local sales rose 2.4% to 30,306 units, but exports
dropped 44% to 13,010 units, dragging down overall sales.
Tata Motors sold 75,423 vehicles in January, up 15% from a year
earlier. Local sales grew 13% to 70,475 units, while exports
increased 51% to 4,948 vehicles.
The company sold 40,263 trucks and buses during the month, up
12%, while sales of passenger cars grew 15% to 30,212. The sales of
its Nano small car rose 68% to 6,703 units.
In January, Tata Motors raised prices of its commercial vehicles
by INR1,500-INR30,000 and of passenger vehicles by INR3,000 to
INR15,000.
Maruti increased prices by INR1,000-INR10,000 on some models,
while Mahindra raised vehicle prices by up to 2.5%.
Mahindra said it clocked its highest-ever monthly sales of
36,718 units in January, a rise of 22% from a year earlier.
Local sales of its mainstay utility vehicles rose 11% to 16,088
units. Total exports surged 82% to 2,117 units.
"While sales of Maruti were in line with what we had thought,
Tata Motors' sales of heavy commercial vehicles lagged our
estimates," said Surjit Arora, a Mumbai-based analyst with
Prabhudass Liladher Pvt. Ltd.
"The lag was because there was a lot of pre-buying in the first
half of the fiscal year [which started April 2010] as well as
because of the recent price increases," he added.
Total vehicle sales in India rose 31% in 2010 to 14.82 million
units. But industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers
expects growth in 2011 to moderate to between 15% and 18%.
Hero Honda Motors Ltd. (500182.BY) said sales in January crossed
the 400,000 mark for the ninth month in a row. India's biggest
two-wheeler maker by sales despatched 466,524 two-wheelers in the
month, up 20% from a year earlier.
TVS Motor Co. (532343.BY) said vehicle sales grew 30% to 165,152
units in January. Local motorcycle and scooter sales rose 30% to
142,227 units, while three-wheeler sales more than doubled to 3,427
units. Two-wheeler exports climbed 21% to 19,498 units, it
said.
Also Tuesday, Ford India Ltd. said it sold 10,026 vehicles in
January, compared with 2,453 units a year earlier, while General
Motors' India sales grew 6% to 9,984 units.
Demand for Toyota Motor Corp.'s (TM) vehicles surged 53% to
9,185 units as it benefited from higher sales of the Etios sedan,
introduced in December. Toyota Kirloskar Motor Pvt. Ltd., the
Japanese auto maker's Indian unit, said it has booked 22,000 Etios
sedans so far and sold 1,651 units in January.
Volkswagen India sold 5,601 units in the month. It didn't give
year-earlier figures.
Nissan Motor Co.'s India unit sold 1,857 vehicles in the month,
compared with only 40 units a year earlier. Demand was driven by
its Micra small car, which was introduced last year.
Honda Motor Co's (HMC) local unit reported a 6% rise in sales to
6,358 cars.
-By Anirban Chowdhury, Dow Jones Newswires; +91-11-4356-3306;
nikhil.gulati@dowjones.com
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