Maruti Suzuki had a decent month in November, thanks to a pickup in sales of its Swift (which was upgraded in October) and continuing momentum in Ciaz, its new sedan.
That said, it’s likely to a neck-and-neck contest in November to find out which is the top-selling sedan in India – Maruti Suzuki Ciaz or Honda City. The reason? After registering a sales of 6,345 in October, Ciaz numbers have fallen around 5,200 in November. Honda City had sold 5,120 in October.
The competition between Honda City and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz is keenly watched as the City has reigned as the aspirational car for the Indian middle class for years. Maruti has always catered to the more price-sensitive compact car buyers.
However, for Maruti Suzuki, the revival in its biggest contributor to profits — the compact car category comprising Ritz, Celerio, Swift and Dzire — would be welcome news. It had launched an update Swift in late October.
October had seen a dip in Swift sales, ahead of the facelift, and the ‘pent up’ demand seems to have helped Maruti Suzuki lift November sales of Swift.
In all, compact car sales were up 13.8% in November at 37,339, or about 37.3% of the company’s total sales.
In comparison, the company’s mini car segment – WagonR and Alto – saw a slight decline in November and sold 37,746 units. Total passenger car sales were up 15%.
Eeco, a utility van, possibly contributed as much as Ciaz and Swift to boosting November numbers for Maruti. Total sales of Eeco and Omni jumped to 12,203 from 8,021 a year ago.
Total exports too rose to 10,123 from 6,630.
TOYOTA
Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported a 19% increase in India sales.
It sold 12,175 units in Nov 2014 in the domestic market as compared to 10,208 units last year.
The company exported 1,959 units of Etios series last month. TKM registered sales of 14,134 units, including exports, in Nov 2014 as compared to 12,748 units in the corresponding month last year. TKM registered an overall growth of 11%.
HYUNDAI
Hyundai Motor India reported domestic sales of 35,511 units in November, up 6% year on year. It exported 18,500 units, up 14.3%.
Hyundai Elite i20 reached 10,500 units, making it as the top seller amongst the strong Hyundai brands, the company said.
ASHOK LEYLAND
The commercial vehicle maker reported a 44% jump in sales for November, with sales of 7,732 vehicles for the month.
Full auto sales numbers for Maruti for November are given below –
| Category : Sub-segment | Models | Nov | Till Nov | April’13 – March’14 | ||||
| 2014 | 2013 | % Change | 2014-15 | 2013-14 | % Change | |||
| A: Mini | Alto, WagonR | 37746 | 38040 | -0.8% | 275220 | 281754 | -2.3% | 436032 |
| A: Compact | Ritz, Celerio, Swift, Dzire* | 37339 | 32804 | 13.8% | 327098 | 273974 | 19.4% | 440381 |
| A: Super Compact | Dzire Tour | 1989 | 604 | 229.3% | 10420 | 5569 | 87.1% | 10012 |
| A: Mid-Size | SX4, Ciaz ** | 5232 | 200 | 2516.0% | 13754 | 2928 | 369.7% | 4029 |
| Total A: Passenger Cars | 82306 | 71649 | 14.9% | 626492 | 564226 | 11.0% | 890455 | |
| B: Utility vehicles | Gypsy, Grand Vitara,Ertiga | 5515 | 5840 | -5.6% | 43911 | 39480 | 11.2% | 61119 |
| C: Vans | Omni, Eeco | 12203 | 8021 | 52.1% | 85020 | 64774 | 31.3% | 102115 |
| Total Domestic Sales | 100024 | 85510 | 17.0% | 755423 | 668480 | 13.0% | 1053689 | |
| Total Export Sales | 10123 | 6630 | 52.7% | 80489 | 70767 | 13.7% | 101352 | |
| Total Sales (Domestic + Export) | 110147 | 92140 | 19.5% | 835912 | 739247 | 13.1% | 1155041 | |
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