Car sales zoom 9.48%, bikes plunge 2.87% in September

New Delhi: Car sales in India rose 9.48 percent in September -- 11th consecutive month of growth, as the domestic auto industry continues to drive on the slow road to recovery riding on new launches and softening interest rates.

Motorcycle sales, however, continued to remain in the negative territory with sales in September declining 2.87 percent as compared to same period a year ago, according to a data released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

In September, domestic car sales stood at 1,69,590 units as against 1,54,898 units in the same month last year.

"Companies like Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Honda have been doing good due to new product launches, which is driving growth in the passenger car segment," SIAM Deputy Director General Sugato Sen told reporters here.

Softening interest rates and comparatively cheaper fuel have also helped the growth in the passenger car segment, he added.

As per SIAM estimates, at present, interest rates on car loans are hovering between 10.8 percent and 14.3 percent for various lenders, including public sector and private banks, as well as NBFCs.

Various car models like Honda's Jazz, Hyundai's Creta, and Maruti Suzuki's S-Cross have received a good response from customers in the domestic market during the month.

Commenting on the outlook for remaining 2015-16 fiscal, Sen said that passenger car and utility segments are expected to grow marginally.

"Motorcycle is expected to remain flat, scooters segment would also slow down a bit. In commercial vehicle segment, M&HCV segment would grow in double digits while light commercial vehicle segment would continue to be in negative territory," he added.

Sen said withdrawal of export incentives, high vehicle interest rates, and inclusion of certain items in the anti-dumping list, mostly concerning components, are some of the challenges facing the auto industry.

During the month, market leader Maruti Suzuki India posted a growth of 7.94 percent in its domestic car sales at 87,916 units as against 81,447 units in the same month last year.

Rival Hyundai Motor India saw its car sales increase marginally to 35,193 units as against 34,906 units in the year-ago month.

Honda Cars India's sales stood at 17,800 units as against 9,600 units in the same month last year, up 85.41 percent, SIAM said.

Homegrown Tata Motors' domestic car sales were at 10,226 units as compared with 9,765 units in the same month previous year, up 4.72 percent.

Utility vehicles major Mahindra & Mahindra saw its sales decline 4.73 percent to 18,717 units as against 19,647 in September last year.

As per SIAM figures, motorcycle sales declined 2.87 percent to 10,20,237 units last month from 10,50,420 units in the year-ago period.

Sen said that slowdown in the rural economy has led to decline in sales.

"Rural markets continue to be in bad shape. Below normal monsoon has further impacted the sales in rural areas," Sen said.

During September, market leader Hero MotoCorp saw its bike sales rise 2.48 percent to 5,26,658 units as against 5,13,886 units in same period of last year.

Rival Bajaj Auto saw sales decline 5.79 percent to 1,87,711 units in September as against 1,99,251 units in the year-ago month, SIAM said.

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) saw its bike sales decline 17.96 percent to 1,47,229 units as against 1,79,472 units in September last year.

Scooter sales, however, continued to do well in September as the segment posted a growth of 6.54 percent during the month at 4,62,341 units as compared to 4,33,955 units in the same period of previous year.

HMSI maintained its leadership position in segment posting a growth of 9.65 percent at 2,64,416 units as against 2,41,128 units in the corresponding month last year.

Hero MotoCorp sales declined 5.98 percent to 62,986 units in September, as against 66,996 units during the same period of previous year.

Chennai-based TVS Motor Co saw its scooter sales increase 12.15 percent at 71,303 units in September as against 63,576 units in the same month last year.

Total two-wheeler sales in September declined 1.06 percent to 15,37,137 units as against 15,53,608 units in the same month last year.

Sales of commercial vehicles were up 12.07 percent at 62,845 units in September, SIAM said.

Vehicle sales across categories registered a 0.45 percent decline to 18,81,673 units from 18,90,218 units in September 2014, it added.