Carmakers in India report sales growth in January amid supply issues

Reflecting a seemingly sustainable market recovery amid concerns oversupply of certain parts, auto majors Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor, M&M, Tata Motors, Honda and MG Motor on Monday reported growth in their domestic passenger vehicle sales in January.

The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) reported a 2.6 per cent rise in domestic sales to 1,48,307 units last month as against 1,44,499 units in January 2020.

The company's growth was driven by utility vehicle sales, including Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga, which rose 45.1 per cent to 23,887 units compared to 16,460 in the year-ago month. Sales of mid-sized sedan Ciaz also jumped 61.3 per cent to 1,347 units from 835 in January 2020.

MSI witnessed a 7.4 per cent decline in sales of mini cars, comprising Alto and S-Presso to 1,02,088 units as against 1,10,225 in the same month last year. Similarly compact segment, including models such as Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire, also declined by 8.8 per cent to 76,935 units as against 84,340 cars in January 2020.

Rival Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) reported a 23.8 per cent jump in domestic sales to 52,005 units as against 42,002 units in January 2020.

"The growth momentum has been achieved on account of great customer pull for recently launched products like the all-new Creta, new Verna and the all-new i20," HMIL Director (Sales, Marketing & Service) Tarun Garg said.

Homegrown auto major Tata Motors said its passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market in January stood at 26,978 units as against 13,894 units in the same month previous year, up 94 per cent.

Utility vehicles major Mahindra & Mahindra's domestic passenger vehicle sales were up 4 per cent to 20,634 units last month as compared to 19,797 units in January 2020.

"We have witnessed a growth of 5 per cent in utility vehicles for the month of January. We have also seen strong bookings fuelled by continued demand," M&M Automotive Division CEO Veejay Nakra said.

The supply shortage of micro-processor semiconductors continues to be a serious challenge for the auto industry, he said, adding "Going forward we are working with our supplier partners to gear up our supply chain and meet the market demand".

Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) reported an over two-fold increase in domestic sales to 11,319 units in January as compared to 5,299 units in the domestic market in January 2020.

"The strong demand for our popular sedans Amaze and City, in fact, exceeded the supply last month and we seem to be heading towards sustainable market recovery except for a few challenges," HCIL Senior Vice-President and Director Marketing & Sales Rajesh Goel said.

With the Covid-19 vaccination drive currently in progress, the automaker expects it to propel positivity in the market, resulting in a steady demand going forward, he added.

MG Motor India said its sales rose by 15 per cent to 3,602 units in January as compared to 3,130 units in the same month a year ago. It undertook an annual maintenance shutdown at its Halol manufacturing facility in Gujarat during the first 11 days of January, which affected production and the supply chain.

"We have received a good response for the Hector 2021, including the latest addition to the family - Hector Plus seven-seater. Our supply situation is chasing demand with ramp-up continuing post the maintenance shutdown and we expect good sales in February and March 2021," MG Motor India Director- Sales Rakesh Sidana said.

In the two-wheeler segment, Chennai-based TVS Motor Co said its domestic two-wheeler sales stood at 2,05,216 units last month as compared to 1,63,007 units in January 2020, up 26 per cent.

Royal Enfield also reported a growth of 5 per cent in domestic sales last month at 64,372 units as against 61,292 units in January 2020. PTI MSS RKL BAL