High Fuel Costs Dent Car Sales in September, Two-Wheelers Sales Still Strong

High fuel and interest costs subdued the monthly passenger vehicle sales of select Indian automobile companies in September. However, the two-wheeler segment players reported robust monthly sales growth on the back of the upcoming festive season.

Automobile major Maruti Suzuki India reported a slip of 0.5 percent in its overall sales during September which stood at 162,290 units from 163,071 units sold in the year-ago month.

In the domestic market, it sold 153,550 units during September, up 1.4 percent from 151,400 units sold in the corresponding month in 2017.

On the other hand, the Hyundai Motor India's domestic sales saw a marginal rise. The company's overall sales including exports rose by just 1 percent to 62,757 units from 62,285 units off-take during the corresponding month of last year.

Commenting on the August sales, Vikas Jain, National Sales Head, Hyundai Motor India, said: "Hyundai registered a cumulative volume of 62,757 units in September 2018 with strong demand in export markets with a growth of 22.2 percent."

"Despite some ongoing market challenges, we expect this festival season will induce positive sentiments among customers and the industry would witness a strong positive growth."

Similarly, commercial and passenger vehicles maker Tata Motors' domestic sales grew during the month under review. It rose by 20 per cent last month over corresponding period of 2017.

The company sold a total of 64,250 units in the domestic market last month, up from 53,964 units sold in September 2017. Tata Motors' exports in September 2018 grew by 35 percent with 5,250 units shipped abroad compared to 3,887 units last year.

Another automobile major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) reported a two percent rise in its overall sales, including exports, in September 2018. As per the company data, the overall sales during the month under review grew to 55,022 vehicles from 53,752 vehicles sold in September 2017.

"The month of September has been muted for passenger vehicles due to factors such as low consumer buying sentiment, high fuel prices and the effects of monsoon in many parts of the country," said Rajan Wadhera, President, Automotive Sector, M&M.

"We remain hopeful that the upcoming festive season will augur well for us as well as the automotive industry." Commercial vehicles major Ashok Leyland closed September 2018 with a 26 percent growth in sales.

In a statement, the company said it sold 19,373 units last month, up from 15,371 units sold in September 2017. Additionally, two- and three-wheeler major TVS Motor Company' sales grew by 18 percent in September 2018. The company said the sales increased from 359,850 units in September 2017 to 423,978 units last month.

Two-wheeler manufacturer Suzuki Motorcycle India's domestic sales rose by 24.27 percent to 63,140 units from 50,808 units achieved during the corresponding period of September 2017.

Bajaj Auto registered a growth of 17 percent with sales increasing to 502,009 units from 428,752 units sold in September 2017. Two-wheeler major Hero MotoCorp said that it despatched 769,138 units of motorcycles and scooters in September 2018.