Maruti Suzuki, Hyudai, Honda, Tata, Mahindra, Toyota post double-digit sales growth in November

New Delhi: Auto majors, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyudai, Mahindra and Toyota, posted healthy double digit sales growth last month, overcoming post festive season lean phase. Various factors, including robust demand in rural markets and good response to new models, helped in driving the sales, the companies said. The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said its domestic sales were at 1,45,300 units, up 15 percent from 1,26,325 in November last year. The sales were mainly driven by compact segment comprising Swift, Dzire and Baleno, which jumped by 32.4 percent to 65,447 units last month. Utility vehicle sales, including Gypsy, Grand Vitara, Ertiga, S-Cross and compact SUV Vitara Brezza, increased by 34 percent to 23,072 units in November from 17,215 in the same month of 2016, MSI added. However, mini segment cars, including Alto and WagonR, witnessed a 1.8 percent decline to 38,204 units during the month under review, from 38,886 in October 2016, the automaker said. Rival, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) reported a 10 percent increase in domestic sales at 44,008 units in November. [caption id=“attachment_3997455” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Commenting on the sales, HMIL Director (Sales and Marketing) Rakesh Srivastava said growth during the last month has been achieved due to the strong performance of next gen Verna Gen Verna along with Grand i10, Elite i20 and Creta. “Due to strong pull of festive demand on the strength of buoyant rural markets, we hope to build on this positive momentum with a cumulative retail sales of 2,00,000 units for the period September to December 2017,” he added. Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) also reported a 47.2 percent jump in its domestic sales at 11,819 units in November. The company had sold 8,029 units in the same month last year, HCIL said in a statement. On the sales performance, HCIL President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno said: “Last year, HCIL sales in November were severely affected by demonetisation. Although November volumes this year have shown improvement over last year, the market is still to recover fully from the GST related changes affecting consumers at large.” Home-grown auto major Tata Motors today reported 57.67 percent increase in total sales at 52,464 units in November. The company had sold 33,274 units in the same month last year, Tata Motors said in a statement. Tata Motors Head of Commercial Vehicle Business Unit Girish Wagh said the growth of CV sales was driven by a strong product portfolio across segments and a further ramp-up in production. “The commercial vehicles industry has significantly improved and the sector has bounced back strongly after the hiccups surrounding the BS4 transition, GST implementation and demonetisation that impacted the transport industry,” he added. Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra reported sales growth of 21 percent at 36,039 units last month in the domestic market. Sales of passenger vehicles, including Scorpio, XUV500, Xylo, Bolero and Verito, increased 21 percent to 16,030 units compared to 13,198 units in the same month last year. “We are happy to be in a positive growth phase for November 2017, which is usually a lean period post the festive season,” M&M President Automotive Sector Rajan Wadhera said. Ford posted sales increase of 13.1 percent at 7,777 units in the domestic market in November, driven mainly by recently-introduced new edition of compact SUV Ford EcoSport. Similarly, Toyota Kirloskar Motor also reported a 13 percent rise in domestic sales at 12,734 units in November. It had sold a total of 11,309 units in the same month of last year. In two-wheeler segment, Bajaj Auto reported 21 percent increase in total sales in November at 3,26,458 units as against 2,69,948 units in the same month last year. Royal Enfield, the two-wheeler division of Eicher Motors, said its domestic sales were at 67,776 units in November as against 55,843 units in the year-ago month, up 21 percent. Suzuki Motorcycle India also reported domestic sales at 42,722 units in November as against 30,830 units in the same month last year, a growth of 38.6 percent.