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High fuel prices hit petrol SUVs sales
Posted on 06 Jul 20123,232 Views1 Comments
Uncertainty over petrol prices dampens petrol SUV demand, including Honda CR-V sales; all new cars come in only diesel version
Sports utility vehicles may be the superstars of India's car market, but old favourites such as Honda CR-V, Mitsubishi Outlander and Maruti Grand Vitara have literally gone off the road due to rising petrol prices and a steady flow of diesel-powered offroaders.
Sales of petrol-driven multi-utility vehicles have plummeted to their lowest ever even as SUV remains the fastest growing category in the market, raising questions on the viability of these auto products.
Honda CR-V, which ruled the Indian SUV market until five years ago and used to sell around 200 units a month, managed to sell mere 38 units in April and May. Its annual sales had dipped to its lowest of 319 units last fiscal.
Maruti Suzuki's Grand Vitara, which was once selling more than 2,000 units very recently, has all but disappeared from the market. The country's largest carmaker sold just two Grand Vitaras in the first quarter. Last fiscal, it sold just 27 units sold.
"The market has totally shifted to diesel vehicles," a senior Maruti Suzuki executive said. "We are also planning to bring a diesel SUV in the next two years," the person added.
The company had tried to strap its hugely successful 1.3 litre multijet diesel engine into Maruti Suzuki Gypsy as an interim, but abandoned the project after technical failure. Mitsubishi's Outlander sales dipped 66% to 31 units in April and May. It sold 320 units in 2011-12.
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Devkaran Sonagra
because of wide gap between both fuels , petrol vehicles will sale will go down like anythig.
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