BackBumpy ride for auto industry; Feb sales dip10.34%
Bumpy ride for auto industry; Feb sales dip10.34%
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PTI
New Delhi: The rough ride for the Indian automobile industry continued with overall vehicle sales declining by 10.34% in February, mainly on account of falling motorcycle sales, that are down by 17.68%.
According to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), domestic passenger car sales managed a growth of 2.31% in February.
Total domestic vehicles sale in February stood at 7,42,027 units, against 8,27,594 units in the same month last year.
The passenger car segment, which had managed to beat the high interest rates blues so far, clocked a marginal improvement at 94,756 units during the month, against 92,618 units in the same month a year ago, SIAM said.
Segment leader Maruti Suzuki India registered an increase of 2.16% at 51,762 units, against 50,666 units in the same month in 2007.
Rivals Hyundai Motors sold 14,591 units during the month, against 15,432 units last year, down 5.45%. Tata Motors also registered a decline of 16.02% at 13,451 units, against 16,016 units in the same month previous year.
General Motors India, however, had a near three-fold jump in sales with its hatchback ‘Spark´ continuing a good run. The company’s overall sales stood at 3,691 units, compared to 1,286 units last year.
Industry experts attributed the drop in car sales to postponing of purchases by customers in expectation of excise duty cut in the Budget.
On the motorcycles front, the slump continued with the segment registering a fall of 17.68% at 4,25,089 units, against 5,16,410 units a year ago, SIAM said.
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