NEW DELHI: Indian carmakers decelerated to single-digit sales growth in April, signaling a tough year ahead for the industry when rising loan rates and higher sticker prices may put off many prospective buyers. Two-wheeler sales continued to vroom.
Maruti Suzuki, which sells every second car in the country, on Monday said it sold 97,155 cars in April, 4.4% more than last year, while its biggest challenger Hyundai reported near flat sales growth. Honda Siel, General Motors and Ford reported a fall in sales as carmakers prepare for tougher times after a two glorious years, when the market grew 30% in 2010-11 on top of 26% rise in the year earlier.
"The rising interest rates have led to reduced enquires, and the conversion rate of customers from enquiry to purchase of cars too has slowed down," Hyundai Motor India Director (Marketing & Sales) Arvind Saxena said. "We expect the same trend to continue in the coming months," he added. Hyundai's domestic sales increased 11% to 31,636 cars last month, but a 13.2% drop in exports made its total sales near flat at 52,058 vehicles.
Maruti's domestic sales grew 8.8% year-on-year to 87,144 cars. It's the entry-level customers who are most impacted by rising ownership costs. Maruti's largest volume segment of hatchbacks such as Alto, WagonR, Estilo, Swift, A-Star and Ritz grew just 1.82% to 57,443 units in April, while demand for sedans such as Dzire and SX4 rose 39% to 13,899, the company said. Analyst tracking the sector said sales growth will be moderate in coming months.
"Customers are taking into account the overall rising cost of ownership that will only increase in coming months," Price Waterhouse auto analyst and partner Abdul Majeed said. "There will be impact of the higher prices of cars and fuel," he said. ET had reported in its April 30 edition that the growth in passenger cars has started to slow.
Honda Siel Cars India sold only 2,012 cars in April, 44% less than a year earlier. General Motors India sales declined 5.19% to 10,050, while Ford India sales slipped 2.5% to 7,319 cars. Toyota Kirloskar, however, reported a 61% jump in sales on the back of huge demand for its latest sedan Etios.
"This growth can be directly attributed to the great customer response to Etios sedan," Toyota Kirloskar Motor Deputy MD (Marketing) Sandeep Singh said. He said the company has sold 12,758 Etios since its launch in December last.
Europe's largest carmaker Volkswagen, which aims to overtake Toyota as the world's largest, on Monday said it sold 7,000 cars in Indian last month. This included 6,621 units of Polo and Vento as well as 190 Passat that went on sale on April 8.
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Maruti Suzuki, which sells every second car in the country, on Monday said it sold 97,155 cars in April, 4.4% more than last year, while its biggest challenger Hyundai reported near flat sales growth. Honda Siel, General Motors and Ford reported a fall in sales as carmakers prepare for tougher times after a two glorious years, when the market grew 30% in 2010-11 on top of 26% rise in the year earlier.
"The rising interest rates have led to reduced enquires, and the conversion rate of customers from enquiry to purchase of cars too has slowed down," Hyundai Motor India Director (Marketing & Sales) Arvind Saxena said. "We expect the same trend to continue in the coming months," he added. Hyundai's domestic sales increased 11% to 31,636 cars last month, but a 13.2% drop in exports made its total sales near flat at 52,058 vehicles.
Maruti's domestic sales grew 8.8% year-on-year to 87,144 cars. It's the entry-level customers who are most impacted by rising ownership costs. Maruti's largest volume segment of hatchbacks such as Alto, WagonR, Estilo, Swift, A-Star and Ritz grew just 1.82% to 57,443 units in April, while demand for sedans such as Dzire and SX4 rose 39% to 13,899, the company said. Analyst tracking the sector said sales growth will be moderate in coming months.
"Customers are taking into account the overall rising cost of ownership that will only increase in coming months," Price Waterhouse auto analyst and partner Abdul Majeed said. "There will be impact of the higher prices of cars and fuel," he said. ET had reported in its April 30 edition that the growth in passenger cars has started to slow.
Honda Siel Cars India sold only 2,012 cars in April, 44% less than a year earlier. General Motors India sales declined 5.19% to 10,050, while Ford India sales slipped 2.5% to 7,319 cars. Toyota Kirloskar, however, reported a 61% jump in sales on the back of huge demand for its latest sedan Etios.
"This growth can be directly attributed to the great customer response to Etios sedan," Toyota Kirloskar Motor Deputy MD (Marketing) Sandeep Singh said. He said the company has sold 12,758 Etios since its launch in December last.
Europe's largest carmaker Volkswagen, which aims to overtake Toyota as the world's largest, on Monday said it sold 7,000 cars in Indian last month. This included 6,621 units of Polo and Vento as well as 190 Passat that went on sale on April 8.
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