2017 August Car Sales: Maruti Sales Up, Toyota Witnesses Decline

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL)

Continuing the trend, among the key players in the automobile industry in India, Maruti Suzuki India reported 23.8 percent increase in sales at 1, 63,701 units in August 2017 compared to 1,32,211 units in the year-ago month.

While its exports saw a decline, Maruti Suzuki witnessed a massive growth in the domestic market. Maruti sold 152,000 units compared to last August's 119,931 units marking a growth of 26.7 percent.

Main contributors to Maruti's sales were led the Maruti Baleno and the Swift Dzire with compact car segment growing by 62.4 percent.

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Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL)

India's second largest carmaker reported sales growth of 9 percent in the domestic market in August 2017. The Korean carmaker 47,103 units in August 2017 compared to 43,201 units in August 2016.

HMIL Director, Sales and Marketing, Rakesh Srivastava said August sales were boosted by the strong response to the newly launched Verna that received more than 7,000 bookings and over 70,000 enquiries within ten days of launch.

Honda Car India Ltd (HCIL)

Honda Car India posted double digit growth as sales went up by 25 percent at 17,365 units, against the 13,941 units sold in August 2016.

The Japanese carmaker's exports from India though fell by 13.4 percent to 575 units compared to 664 units shipped in August 2016. The total sales in August 2017 for Honda India grew by 18.5 percent to 17,940 units compared to 14,605 units sold in August 2016.

Honda India's growth in sales was mainly due to the sales of City and WR-V, and they expect to see demand in the coming festive season.

Tata Motors

Tata Motors sales for August 2017 grew by 14 percent with sales of 48,988 units compared to 43,105 units sold in during the same month in 2016. In the local market, Tata Motors sales grew significantly with the homegrown company registering 10 percent.

Tata Motors sold 14,340 units in August 2017 compared to the 11,462 cars compared to sales in August 2016. The Tata Tiago and the Hexa SUV contributed to the sales of the carmaker.

Mahindra & Mahindra

Mahindra & Mahindra posted 6 percent growth with 19,325 units from 18,246 units achieved in August 2016 in the domestic market. Exports fell by 29 per cent at 2582 units compared to the 3647 units exported in August 2016.

Mahindra's domestic sales were led by the Scorpio, XUV500, TUV300, and KUV100 witnessing a 7 percent over the same period last year. The company is confident a good growth over the next two months with the festive season approaching.

Toyota Kirloskar Motors

Toyota Kirloskar Motors registered a decline in sales by 6.86 percent in total sales with cumulative sales reaching 13,081 units last month, against the 14,045 units sold in August 2016. The domestic sales of Toyota too fell by 6.12 percent with sales of 12,017 units last month compared to 12,801 units sold during the same time last year.

Toyota said that it faced production limitations and holidays in August also led to lesser number of production days and fell short of catching up with the high demand. The Toyota Innova Crysta and the Fortuner SUV were only models for the Japanese carmaker which witnessed steady sales for August 2017.

Ford India

Ford sales in August 2017 were not impressive as sales declining by over 40 percent of total sales including exports as well. The American carmaker sold 15,740 units in August 2017 against 26,408 vehicles sold during the period last year.

The company's domestic sales too witnessed decline by 9.01 percent while exports fell by 55.41 percent to 7,963 vehicles compared to 17,860 units last year. Ford India said, "Constraints in the supply chain severely impacted export as well as domestic production for Ford cars in August."

Volkswagen India

Volkswagen India managed to sell 4,159 units in August 2017, slightly lower when compared to the 4,447 vehicles sold in August 2016 declining by 6.48 percent.

However, the German carmaker's year-to-date sales grew by 10.18 percent. Speaking about the sales, VW Passenger Cars, VW Group Sales India - Director, Steffen Knapp said, "We have witnessed an upward growth trend in the year to date numbers, this growth is attributed to the trust customers place in our products that promise safety and a great driving experience."

"With the onset of the festive season in regions across India, we have enhanced the car buying experience for our customers and have been a part of their celebration through several customer engagement initiatives across the regions."

DriveSpark Thinks!

Post GST, the car industry in India was skeptical how this would impact the sales in July and August 2017; however, back-to-back growth in both the months is promising for the overall industry. With the festive season approaching, car sales in the 2017-18 financial year are expected to be robust.