Auto firms post strong sales

Market leaders Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) and Hero Honda led the automobile industry growth in August ahead of the festive season.

Maruti's sales during August stood at 69,961 units against 54,113 units in the same month last year, registering a growth of over 29 per cent. The company's growth was led by Swift Dzire and the recently launched Ritz and Estilo.

Rival Hyundai, which has had a topsy turvy year so far, too saw double digits growth in August.

"We are now entering the festival season phase and strong sales would help the Indian automotive industry to return to healthy growth," said Arvind Saxena, the company's senior vice-president, marketing and sales. "We do have a lot of expectations from the festival season and we expect it to be much better than the previous year."

In the two-wheeler segment, Hero Honda continued its bull run with over 4 lakh unit sold in the month.

"The economy is finally emerging out of the woods and showing signs of recovery, signalling growth in automobile industry,' said Yukimine Tsuji, CEO & MD, India Yamaha Motor. Yamaha is also holding out hopes from the festive season.