M&M, Toyota Sales Rev up in June; Tata Motors Falls Behind

Bangalore: Auto majors Mahindra & Mahindra and Toyota Kirloskar Motor have reported a jump in sales for June. However, Tata Motors recorded a fall in its total sales. M&M has recorded a 16.12 percent in its sales for June at 41,322 units against 35,584 units in the same month last year. The company’s domestic sales stood at 38,951 units (33,772 units), up 15 per cent, it said in a statement. The passenger vehicles segment (which includes the UVs and Verito) registered a growth of 23 percent at 19,792 units (16,053 units). Exports grew 31 percent to 2,371 units compared to 1,812 units in the same month last year, it said. Commenting on the numbers, Mahindra & Mahindra Chief Executive (Automotive Division), Mr Pravin Shah, said the company has managed to post growth despite pressures and various uncertainties which the auto industry is currently facing. “We expect the demand for utility vehicles industry to continue during the current financial year. Our opinion in the current industry scenario is to not to have any major changes in the policies including fuel prices in order to create an overall positive sentiment,” he added. Tata Motors has reported 3 percent decline in its total sales in June at 64,341 units. The company’s domestic sales of commercial and passenger vehicles for the month declined 5 percent to 58,270 units against 61,266 units in June last year. Tata Motors’ sales of commercial vehicles in the domestic market stood at 41,026 units (39,272 units), up 4 percent, it said in a statement. Light commercial vehicle sales were at 28,363 units, a growth of 22 percent from 23,198 units sold in June last year, it added. Medium and heavy vehicle sales stood at 12,663 units, down 21 percent from 16,074 units sold in June, last year. Passenger vehicles sales were lower by 22 percent to 17,244 units (21,994 units). Sales of the Tata Nano were 5,605 units, up 3 percent over 5,452 units in June last year. The Indica range sales declined 35 percent to 5,332 vehicles (8,188 units). The Indigo range recorded sales of 2,658 units, lower by 46 percent against 4,882 units in the year - ago period. The Sumo, Safari, Aria and Venture range were at 3,649 units in June, up 5 percent from 3,472 units in the same month last year, the statement said. The company’s exports in June grew 19 percent to 6,071 units compared to 5,094 units in June last year. Toyota Kirloskar’s car sales increased 22 percent to 14,700 units (12,034 units), the company said in a statement. TKM, a joint venture between Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp and the Kirloskar Group, however, said it does not see consumer sentiment improving despite the recent cut in petrol prices. “We are relieved by the recent pull back of the fuel price, however, we don’t see the market sentiments improving considerably with the other factors at play,” the TKM Deputy Managing Director Marketing, Mr Sandeep Singh, said in a statement. He further said the company’ sales growth in June was driven by Etios, Innova and Fortuner sales, but the Corolla Altis segment continued to be sluggish. TKM’s Etios series registered a 7 percent growth with sales of 6,155 units compared to 5,739 units in June, 2011. The Innova sold 6,785 units (4,665 units), a growth of 45 percent. The Fortuner sold 1,249 units (990), up 26 percent, while the Corolla Altis sold 5,05 units last month. VE Commercial Vehicles has reported 9.2 percent increase in total sales at 4,064 units in June. The company, which is a joint venture between the Volvo Group and Eicher Motors, had sold 3,723 units in the same month last year. Domestic sales stood at 3,767 units (3,616 units) in the year-ago period, up 4.2 percent, VECV said in a statement. Exports jumped 177.6 percent to 297 units (107 units). VECV said sales of light commercial vehicles in the Indian market declined 1.3 percent to 2,195 units (2,223 units). Domestic heavy commercial vehicle sales grew by 6.1 percent to 523 units from 493 units in June 2011, it said. Two-wheeler major TVS Motor Company today reported a marginal dip in its total sales during the month. The Chennai-based manufacturer sold 1,65,483 units against 1,82,456 units sold in the same month of previous year, a company statement said. Total two-wheeler sales declined to 1,65,438 units (1,78,633 units). The domestic sales of the company stood at 1,47,893 units (1,55,296 units). Motorcycle sales witnessed a sharp fall to 61,274 units (69,859 units). Sales of scooters dipped to 38,166 units from 44,281. The company’s exports also declined to 19,750 units in the month under review against 26,539 units in year-ago period, it said, adding that two-wheeler exports stood at 17,545 units compared to 23,337 units in same month last year. Sales of three - wheelers dropped to 3,255 units in June against 3,823 units in the same month last year. The total cumulative sales for April-June period dropped to 5,19,160 units against 5,36,130 units in the same period of previous year.