Mahindra annual car sales fall 8 percent

Mahindra & Mahindra has faced a tough year at the sales charts in the passenger car segment. The higher excise duty levied on utility vehicles and a range of uncompetitive products in Mahindra’s aging UV lineup has impacted sales through the year.

The company posted a dip in sales of 8 percent in FY2014-15 compared to the previous year. Cumulative domestic passenger vehicle sales for the year totaled to 2.10 lakh units from 2.29 lakh units. Even sales in March 2015 at 21,030 units are 10 percent lower than the 23,433 units posted in the corresponding period last year.

Mahindra’s backbone, the Bolero continues to do well for the utility vehicle manufacturer. Even the new Scorpio is doing respectable numbers but the rest of the pack is not selling well enough. While rural penetration for Mahindra is quite good, sales in Cities which has a larger concentration of car buyers is where the Company is reeling behind other large manufacturers.

Speaking on auto sales performance, Pravin Shah, Chief Executive, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. said, “With factors such as expectation of normal monsoon, settling down of petrol and diesel prices and the likely softening of interest rates, we expect the auto industry to perform better, in FY2016.”