Indian car sales posted healthy growth of 25% in June 2004, compared with a year ago. The month was marked by robust sales by Maruti and Tata Motors.
65,046 new vehicles were sold during the month compared with 52,060 units in June 2003, data released by the Society of Indian
Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed.
Now it is certain that no cut in excise duties will be announced in the near future, the car market has returned to its normal buying patterns. Discounts being offered by some car manufacturers coupled with price ‘rationalisation’ for certain mainstream models also helped the sales growth.
Market leader Maruti posted sales of 30,781 units, a 25.4 % rise, on brisk sales of the Alto though the entry level 800 has slumped lately.
Tata Motors reported a rise of 44.8 % to 12,650 units, thanks to a good response to the recently updated Indica V2 (a version of which is exported to MG Rover’s markets in Europe).
Meanwhile, Hyundai India, which claims to be facing production constraints due to the current ramping up of its capacity, posted a marginal 1.75% year on year rise to 12,150 units.
Deepesh Rathore / Tilak Swarup
