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Auto industry hits bump
The auto industry is showing signs of a slowdown and the two-wheeler segment has been the worst hit, reports Deepak Joshi.
The auto industry is showing signs of a slowdown and the two-wheeler segment has been the worst hit.
TVS Motor Company reported a total two wheeler sales of 115, 091 units in September 2007, as against 162,200 units in September last year, a substantial drop of 29.04 per cent. For motorcycles, the decline was a steep 49.53 per cent, with 53,991 units being sold against 106,972 units in September 2006.
A company release said: "Currently, the company's motorcycle portfolio is skewed towards the retail finance dependant entry level and is practically absent from the executive segment, which accounts for over 40 per cent of motorcycle sales. New product launches will fill this gap and help the company leverage the entire product portfolio in future."
In the scooter segment, TVS Scooty continued to post higher growth figures over last year clocking 27,199 units in September 2007 against 24,890 units a year ago, recording a growth of 9 per cent. The launch of TVS Scooty's Teenz EV is expected to strengthen this segment.
Pune-based Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) also reported a 25 per cent spike in motorcycle sales in September compared to the same month last year, continuing its dip in sales for over seven months. BAL's total two and three-wheeler sales during the month fell by 23 per cent at 2l, 32,496 units, against 3,00,141 for the same month last year. The company's exports figure grew 30 per cent.
Market leader Hero Honda Motors, however, reported a 4.31 per cent growth in sales during September. It said its total two-wheeler sales during the month stood at 3,14,567 units against 3,01,577 units in the same month last year. The sales number for September represent a fairly good start to the forthcoming festival season, and the company expects to keep up the momentum, the company said.
The story for the car industry was better, though the performance was way below last year's growth trend. Maruti Suzuki India reported an 11.4 per cent jump in its domestic sales during September at 63,086 units, against 56,606 units last year. The company's exports during the month grew 55 per cent at 4,362 units over 2,814 units in September last year.
For the first six months of the current fiscal, the company's overall sales in the domestic market were up 17.5 per cent at 3,36,758 units, against 2,86,622 units in the corresponding period last fiscal.
Hyundai Motor India (HMI) registered a 9.7 per cent increase in domestic vehicle sales at 27,514 units, HMI V-P Arvind Saxena said.
General Motors also reported a 64 per cent increase in its domestic vehicle sales during September at 5,751 units, against 3,506 units in the same month last year, while Mahindra and Mahindra reported a 24.9 per cent increase in domestic sales during September at 18,569 units.
