Festive season fails to lift PV sales

New Delhi: Major automobile makers, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Toyota and Honda, on Tuesday reported double digit declines in domestic passenger vehicle sales in September as onset of the festive season failed to lift the ongoing slump in the auto industry.

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India said its domestic sales declined by 26.7 per cent at 1,12,500 units last month as against 1,53,550 units in September 2018. Sales of mini cars comprising Alto and WagonR stood at 20,085 units as compared to 34,971 units in the same month last year, down 42.6 per cent.

Sales of compact segment, including models such as Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire, fell 22.7 per cent at 57,179 units as against 74,011 cars in September last year.

The firm's mid-sized sedan Ciaz sold 1,715 units as compared to 6,246 units earlier. Similarly, sales of utility vehicles, including Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga, declined marginally at 21,526 units as compared to 21,639 in the year-ago month, it added.

Hyundai Motor India said its domestic PV sales were down 14.8 per cent at 40,705 units as against 47,781 units in September last year.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) reported 33 per cent decline in passenger vehicle sales at 14,333 units last month as compared to 21,411 units in the same month last year.

Reflecting on the sales performance, M&M Chief of Sales and Marketing, Automotive Division, Veejay Ram Nakra said, "We are positive that this festive season, with the onset of Navratra, will augur well for us and the automotive industry."

This, in addition to factors such as the good monsoon and recently announced positive government initiatives should help revive the industry in the short term, he added.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor's (TKM) domestic sales were at 10,203 units last month as compared to 12,512 units in September 2018, a decline of 18 per cent.