Fuel prices may have hit a record high over the past few weeks, but that doesn't seem to have had any impact on automobile sales. On the contrary, major auto makers like Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Toyota and Honda among others have reported a strong double digit growth in sales in May, mainly aided by new product launches and ongoing promotions on some of the existing products.
The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki's sales last month jumped 26 per cent year-on-year to 172,512 units. While mini cars were in less demand (sales down 3 per cent to 37,864 units), powered by the launch of the new Swift, compact car sales accelerated 51 per cent to 77,263 units. Its UV sales were also up 13 per cent to 25,629 units in May.
Elsewhere, homegrown Tata Motors' total sales jumped 58 per cent to 54,295 units. The company's product launches in the passenger vehicle segment over the last 1-2 years continue to see good traction, with total PV sales increasing 61 per cent to 17,489 units.
“Despite a challenging month, we have recorded a strong performance with a growth of 61 per cent. Thanks to the continued strong demand for Tiago and Tigor, our car sales recorded a growth of 18 per cent, while the UVs continued to record an exceptional performance of 463 per cent growth, due to the strong demand for the Nexon and Hexa,” said Mayank Pareek, president – passenger vehicle business at Tata Motors.
The company's commercial vehicles also saw strong momentum. Its total CV sales in the domestic market surged 56 per cent to 36,806 units, which the company points to the government's focus on infrastructure development, pickup in economic growth and robust demand in private consumption-led sectors.
Tata Motors' truck and bus rival Ashok Leyland too saw sales zoom 51 per cent year-on-year to 13,659 units, largely driven by medium and heavy truck sales, which rose 70 per cent to 10,421 units.
Mahindra & Mahindra which is a strong player in the LCV market, too saw good demand in the commercial vehicle segment, with total sales of CVs in May rising 15 per cent to 18,748 units. However, sales of its bread and butter utility vehicles were flat at 19,295 units versus 19,331 units sold a year ago.
Meanwhile, boosted by the good reception for the newly launched Yaris sedan, Japan's Toyota saw its sales in India last month increase 20 per cent to 13,113 units versus 10,914 units sold in the year ago period.
“Along with the segment leading products Fortuner and Innova Crysta, Yaris has been a significant contributor to the overall positive sales growth as compared to the same period last year,” said N. Raja, deputy MD at Toyota Kirloskar Motor.
The company has so far dispatched over 4,000 units of the Yaris sedan, since deliveries began to dealerships across the country on May 18.
Japanese rival Honda, also got a boost from the launch of the second generation Amaze compact sedan last month. Its total sales in the domestic market raced ahead to 15,864 units, versus 11,278 units sold a year ago.
“During last month, we prioritised Amaze production volumes to cater to the strong customer demand. We are delighted with the customer response to the Amaze, which has helped our overall sales grow by 41 per cent in May,” said Rajesh Goel, director, sales and marketing at Honda Cars India.
Amaze clocked 9,789 units in May, highest ever monthly sales for a single Honda model in the country.
The double-digit sales momentum continued in the two-wheeler segment as well. Hero MotoCorp, the country's largest two-wheeler maker, reported best ever sales in May at 706,365 units, up 11 per cent. Rival TVS Motor said total sales (two-wheelers and three-wheelers) rose 10 per cent in May to 309,865 units.
Bajaj Auto continued to outstrip its rivals, with total domestic sales last month rising 29 per cent to 224,625 units. Exports were up by 31 per cent to 182,419 units.
Royal Enfield also saw another strong month of demand, with May sales rising 23 per cent to 74,697 units.
Two-wheeler makers remain optimistic that the sales momentum will continue in the year ahead.
“With the forecast of a good monsoon this year, there is expectation of an uptick in market demand in the later part of the year, leading to a sustained momentum in the positive turnaround in sentiments across the country,” Hero MotoCorp said.
Buoyed by strong sales data, shares of several automakers were in the fast lane on Friday. Bajaj Auto was the highest gainer among the pack, up by over 5 per cent, while Maruti Suzuki rose 3 per cent and TVS Motor and Hero MotoCorp were up around 2 per cent. Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland also rose 1.5 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively. However, M&M ended down by 2.4 per cent.