Sales of Hyundai, Maruti and Skoda up in September 2009

Hyundai Motor India Limited, Maruti Suzuki India Limited and Skoda India Limited have recorded growth in their sales in September 2009.

Hyundai Motor India registered its highest-ever sales of 53,804 units in September 2009, a press release from the company said.

After many months of slump in the domestic market, Hyundai achieved a growth rate of 25%, riding on the increased sales in the festive season.

Hyundai said its sales overseas grew only by 9% since the export market had slowed down with the scrappage incentive having ended in most markets in Europe.

The total sales of Hyundai Motor India Limited for September 2009 were to the tune of 53,804 units, compared to 46,218 units in September 2008. While the domestic sales accounted for 27,803 units in September 2009 (compared to 22,311 units in September 2008), the overseas sales increased to 26,001 units in September 2009 from 23,907 units in September 2008.

The segment-wise cumulative sales of Hyundai Motor India Hyundai for September 2009 are: A2 Segment (Santro, i10, Getz & i20) – 49,482 units; A3 Segment (Accent & Verna) – 4,269 units; A5 Segment (Sonata Transform) – 52 units; and SUV Segment (Tucson) – 1 unit.

Hyundai’s future vehicles for India include the Santa Fe SUV and Hyundai i10 diesel, both to be launched in 2010.

India’s largest car-manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki India, says it achieved a 17.3% jump in sales in September 2009 – at 83,306 units.

Maruti Suzuki India sold 71,594 units in September 2009 in the domestic market – up from 64,682 units in September 2008, and representing a rise of 10.7%.

In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Maruti Suzuki India said that the exports of the company shot up by 85.4% to 11,712 units in September 2009 from 6,318 units in September 2008.

However, the sales of Maruti Suzuki M800, once the company’s most popular model, fell by 7.5% at 3,207 units in September 2009, as against 3,467 units in September 2008.

Maruti’s A2 segment (which consists of Wagon R, Alto, Estilo, A-Star, Swift, and Ritz) showed a growth of 15.1% at 52,508 units in September 2009 – up from 45,621 units in September the previous year.

The A3 segment sales of Maruti (which comprises DZiRE and SX4) dropped by 0.8% to 7,356 units in September 2009 from 7,413 units in September 2008.

The production of Maruti Suzuki SX4, the mid-sized sedan, was stopped in September 2009 to facilitate a changeover to an upgraded version.  The new Suzuki SX4 with a 106 bhp BS4 engine and an automatic version will be launched soon.

The passenger-car sales of Maruti Suzuki India went up by 11.7% at 71,368 units in September 2009, compared to 63,917 units in September 2008.

Skoda India, which is a fully owned subsidiary of Skoda Auto, of the Czech Republic, posted a growth of 34.8% in sales in September 2009 at 1,213 units – up from 900 units it sold in September 2008.

India’s first super-hatch Skoda Fabia car registered sales of 486 units in September 2009.  The Fabia is the smallest car from Skoda in India, but is positioned as a premium hatch, leading to low sales numbers since its launch. Skoda’s other cars, the Superb and the Laura, on the other hand, are priced with a lot more respect to the Indian consumer!

Skoda, which has been operating in India since November 2001, is a subsidiary of Skoda Auto, which is a part of the Volkswagen Group, the European automobile major.

Skoda India has set up a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Shendra, near Aurangabad, in the state of Maharashtra. The facility at Shendra is spread over an area of 300,000 square metres.