Maruti, Tata Motors report surge in March sales - BL

Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) on Monday reported 14 per cent jump in March sales to 71,772 vehicles, up from 63,196 units a year ago, mainly from increPublishased demand for the Zen Estilo and diesel-powered Swift hatchbacks.

MUL said that it sold 64,556 units in the domestic market, up six per cent from 61,141 units a year earlier.

Exports more than tripled to 7,216 units (2,055 units).

For the fiscal ended March 31, the company sold 6,74,924 units, up 20 per cent from 5,61,822 units sold in the previous year.

Maruti is 54.2 per cent owned by Suzuki Motor Corp, Japan's largest maker of minicars.

"Sales showed robust growth throughout the fiscal, but more significantly in the second half," MUL said in the statement.

Hyundai Motor

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) reported 22.8 per cent jump in domestic vehicle sales in 2006-07 to 1,95,261 units, even as domestic sales in March this year dipped 14.31 per cent to 19,300 units.

The company had reported domestic sales of 22,524 units during March 2006.

Total sales (including exports) in March 2007 declined 5.9 per cent to 28,239 units (30,038 units), the company said in a statement.

"The 2006-07 results are encouraging and we have maintained our growth rate in the market here," said HMIL Managing Director Mr H.S. Lheem.

"Our exports are growing rapidly and once we overcome our production constraints with additional capacity, we will grow even faster."

Tata Motors

Tata Motors reported 11 per cent jump in vehicle sales (including exports) during March to 62,779 units (56,406 units).

The company said that it recorded the highest passenger vehicle sales in a month during March at 25,760 units, up 14 per cent over the same month last year.

Exports in the month, however, declined 33 per cent to 6,299 units (6,508 units).

For the fiscal ended March 31, the company reported cumulative sales of 5,79,378 units (4,54,345 units), up 28 per cent.

Tatas unveil Elegante at Geneva show

Tata Motors unveiled its concept car Elegante -- a vehicle larger than its existing sedan Indigo -- at the Geneva Auto Show on Tuesday.

Speaking on the occasion, Tata Group Chairman Ratan N Tata said, "This is the 10 th year of our participation in the Geneva Auto Show, since 1998 when we unveiled the Tata Indica. In the past, Tata Motors had developed a portfolio of cars, enriched with contemporary features. Several of the design cues of the Tata Elegante are incorporated in the forthcoming generation of Indica and Indigo cars."

The Tata Elegante, larger than Indigo, is conceptualised to incorporate four cylinder transverse petrol and diesel engines from 1.4 litres through to 2 litres and a compact V6 petrol power unit. Common rail direct injection turbo diesel engines with variable valve timing and capabilities to comply with Euro V emissions norms will also be available.

The car's power varies from 90 to 200 PS with torque of upto 280 Nm. Transmission options include 6 speed manual and automatic gearboxes.

Besides meeting all European safety, crash-worthiness and emission standards, the Tata Elegante's features include satellite navigation system, cruise control, integrated blue tooth compatibility, heated mirrors, rain sensor, front and rear parking sensors, and other contemporary features.

Tata Motors is also displaying a redesigned Tata Pick-up which is fitted with a 2.2 litre 140 PS common rail direct injection Euro IV compliant diesel engine.

With superior styling and comfort features as well as safety features such as ABS and airbags, this is a versatile Pick-up truck suited for business as well as leisure applications. It is offered in single cabin, double cabin and space cabin versions in 4x2 as well as 4x4 configurations. Superior fuel mileage and better payload capacity make it a profitable choice for commercial and personal usage.

While continuing to be manufactured in India, the Tata pick-up will be manufactured in Thailand and will be marketed in Tata Motors' existing European, Asean and African markets. Tata and the Fiat Group are exploring the manufacture and marketing of this vehicle in Latin America.

Also on display at the show are the latest versions of the Tata Indica hatchback, the Tata Indigo SW station wagon and the Tata Safari DiCOR sports utility vehicle.

Automobile Industry

The Indian auto industry, worth US$ 34 billion in 2006, has grown at a CAGR of 14 per cent over the last five years with total sales of vehicles reaching around 9 million vehicles in 2005-06. That number is likely to see a significant boost, given that the first half of 2006-07 has already witnessed a staggering growth rate of 17.12 per cent. Domestic car sales for the April-September 2006 period stood at an impressive 4.86 million vehicles, including cars, two-wheelers and commercial vehicles. According to industry experts, if this trend continues, sales could touch 10 million by March 2007, clocking an annual growth rate of 20 per cent. In addition, the Government’s announcement to cut excise duty on small cars will soon see India emerging as the world's largest manufacturing hub for small or compact cars.

Destination India

India is on every major global automobile player’s roadmap, and it isn’t hard to see why:
India is the second largest two-wheeler market in the world
Fourth largest commercial vehicle market in the world
11th largest passenger car market in the world
Expected to be the seventh largest by 2016

Robust production

India’s car production capacity is in for a US$ 2 billion boost. Auto majors have announced massive investment plans which will push the country’s car production past the psychological 2 million mark by the end of fiscal 2006-07, up 70 per cent from 1.4 million units now. Even at 2 million, India, which stood at No.11 among global car producing nations, will move two steps ahead, past UK (1.6 million) and Canada (1.35 million). It will be neck and neck with Brazil’s 2-million capacity at No.8.

The automobile industry witnessed a growth of 19.35 percent in April-July 2006 when compared to April-July 2005, as is evident from this year’s production trends.
Automobile Production Trends

Increased affluence, wider selection and the ready availability of car loans is driving the Indian car market through the roof. During the last five years (2000-05), the production of passenger cars in India increased by more than 100 per cent. India achieved the sales of 1.11 million vehicles last year (2005).

Domestic sales have been growing at a clipping pace:
Passenger car sales rose by 22.84 per cent during April-September 2006, compared to the corresponding period last year.
The cumulative growth of overall sales of passenger vehicles during April-September of 2006-07 was 20.73 percent.
Utility Vehicle (UVs) sales grew at 12.85 per cent during the same period.
Overall, the two wheeler market grew by 15.49 per cent during the April-September period of financial year 2006-07, over the same period last year.
Motorcycles grew by 18.53 per cent, scooters at 0.12 percent and mopeds at about 6.53 percent over April-September 2005.
Three wheeler sales grew at 19.90 per cent. Goods carriers grew by 26.16 per cent and passenger carriers grew at 15.78 per cent during the April-September 2006 period, over the same period last year.
Overall, the commercial vehicles segment grew at 36.96 per cent. Growth of Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles was 39.92 per cent. Light Commercial Vehicles also performed well with a growth of 32.86 percent.

Exports

India is fast emerging as a manufacturing base for car exports. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), a total of 89,338 vehicles were exported in September 2006, a 58.07 per cent jump as compared to the same month last year. While passenger vehicle exports grew at 13.15 per cent, two-wheelers and commercial vehicle exports grew at 27.80 per cent.

Investments

The Indian automobile sector has witnessed a slew of investments in the first half of 2006, dominated by plans for new plants and ramped up capacities. Here are some of the vehicle manufacturers dominating the headlines with their impressive plans:

Punjab-based International Cars and Motors (ICML) will invest US$ 223.7 million in Himachal Pradesh to set up a plant to manufacture diesel-operated multi utility vehicles (MUVs).

Nissan is set to establish its manufacturing base in Gujarat. The company, along with Suzuki, is planning to invest upto US$ 671.2 million for a 600,000 cars per annum plant.

Toyota Kirloskar Motors is likely to set up its second plant near its existing facility in Bidadi, Karnataka.

Hyundai Motor is set to invest an additional US$ 700 million into its Indian operations based in Tamil Nadu, to expand the company’s passenger car capacity to 600,000 units per annum from the present 300,000, as well as in a new engine and transmission unit.

The Government is planning to set up three dedicated corridors for automobile companies exporting to the rest of the world. Dedicated rail corridors are proposed between Gurgaon and Mumbai port, Pune and Mumbai including JNPT and Jamshedpur and Kolkata. A dedicated highway for automobile movement is also being considered between Gurgaon and Delhi. The proposal also includes creating the last-mile, road-port connectivity at all the four ports.

Foreign players in India

Calendar 2006 has seen the entry of many high-end brands into the country. The Indian automobile market will see at least 30 new launches, spanning everything from affordable hatchbacks to mid-size models to super luxury high-end cars and SUVs.

Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Audi, Bentley and Rolls Royce are already here. Now, the Italian marquee Lamborghini is also planning to enter the country. The Italian marquee plans to launch the Gallardo.

German luxury car maker Audi AG is preparing to drive into India a range of sporty, lifestyle cars like S8 and RS4 early next year. The year 2007 will also mark Audi's entry into merchandising in Indian car bazaar.

General Motors launched Aveo this year. GM plans to bring in a sporty variant of the Chevy Optra to add to its existing line-up.

Car sales buck February trend

Car sales saw a major upswing in February, despite price increases and expectations of excise reductions in the Budget that usually prompt consumers to wait and watch.

The domestic sales of Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) grew 61.6 per cent to 59,095 units in February 2007, against 36,608 in February last year. Maruti's major volume came from small cars Zen, Alto, Wagon-R and Swift (where excise duty was not expected to change), which grew by a staggering 79.6 per cent.

However, the big cars from the MUL stable were a disappointment, with sales of the Baleno and Esteem falling 21 per cent.

"Despite the price hike in February, there has been high growth in sales. We expect it to continue despite the hardening of interest rates and government measures to curb demand in the auto sector," said Jagdish Khattar, managing director, Maruti Udyog Limited.

Even for Hyundai, it was its small car Santro which pushed up overall sales by 74 per cent in February (it sold 15,459 units).

Tata Motor, however, grew much slower than the big two (MUL and Hyundai), with car and utility vehicle sales going up by 19 per cent to 21,322 units in February. Its mid-sized cars failed to deliver volumes.

While the company sold 12,580 units of the Indica, growth of 19 per cent over last February, Indigo and Marina sales declined by 6 per cent to 3,436 units.

Large utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra increased its domestic sales by 17.6 cent, clocking 13,266 units in February. Its largest selling SUV, Scorpio, clocked growth of 14 per cent to 2,637 units in February this year, over 2,266 units last year.

Driven by strong sales of its newly launched hatchback, Aveo UV-A (1,085 units), General Motors India registered 81 per cent growth in February sales, selling 3,087 units, against 1,709 units last year.