Maruti, M&M, Tata Motors begin new fiscal on a strong note with high April sales

New Delhi: Automakers began the new financial year on a strong note led by market leader Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) which posted its best-ever wholesales in a month in April in the domestic market. Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors also reported robust double digit sales growth during the month while Hyundai clocked a single-digit growth during the period. MSI said its domestic sales stood at 1,64,978 units in April, up 14.2 percent from 1,44,492 units in same month of last year, fuelled by strong sales of compact segment cars. Sales of Swift, Estilo, Dzire and Baleno jumped 31.8 percent to 83,834 units last month as against 63,584 units in the year-ago month. The mini segment cars like Alto and WagonR, however, witnessed a 2.8 percent decline to 37,794 units during the month under review from 38,897 units in April last year. Utility vehicle sales, Ertiga, S-Cross and compact SUV Vitara Brezza increased marginally to 20,804 units last month from 20,638 units in April, 2017. Mahindra & Mahindra reported a 19.34 percent increase in its sales in the domestic market at 45,217 units last month. It had sold 37,889 units in the same period of last year. [caption id=“attachment_4297977” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] “After a good FY18, we have had a strong start to FY19… The company has achieved good growth both in the personal and commercial vehicle segments,” M&M President, Automotive Sector, Rajan Wadhera, said. Similarly, Tata Motors reported a 34 percent jump in passenger vehicle sales at 17,235 units in April as compared to 12,827 units last year. “While there were challenges in market, strong demand for new generation products like Tiago, Tigor, Nexon and Hexa lead the growth in April,” Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Business Unit President Mayank Pareek said. Hyundai Motor India posted 4.4 percent rise in domestic sales at 46,735 units last month as compared to 44,758 units in April 2017. On the other hand, Ford India reported a 2.49 percent dip in its domestic sales last month at 7,428 units. The company had sold 7,618 units in the year-ago month. In the two wheeler segment, TVS Motor Company reported a 24 percent increase in total sales at 3,04,795 units in April. The company had sold a total of 2,46,310 units in the same month of the previous year. Its domestic two-wheeler sales increased 17.6 percent to 2,41,604 units in April as against 2,05,522 units in the year-ago month.