Top five: December sales bucks trend

December is a month when manufacturers work overtime to get cars out of showrooms but December 2014 was different. With the impending excise duty roll back looming in the minds of car buyers, purchases were advanced to take benefits of pre-excise roll back rates. A strong month in sales for manufacturers ensued. Here’s how the top five stand this month – 

1. Maruti Suzuki

Maruti came close to breaching the one lakh sales mark in December, which is quite an achievement. India’s largest carmaker sold 98,109 units last month, a growth of 13 percent. What might be a bit worrying for the carmaker is the noticeable decline in sales of the Ciaz in its third month. From as high a opening as over 6,000 units, the Ciaz sold 3,731 units last month. The Ertiga is going strong in the MPV segment with over 5,700 units rolling off the assembly line. The entry level hatchback segment for Maruti which includes the Alto and Wagon R meanwhile continues to lose traction with buyer with a sales dip of about 10 percent. 

2. Hyundai

The Korean carmaker had a fantastic December with cumulative sales (domestic + exports) up 21 percent. Domestic sales stood at 32,504 units, up 14.7 percent from the corresponding period last year and total sales almost touched the 60,000 mark. Hyundai has sold 4.11 lakh vehicles in calendar year 2014. The Elite i20, Xcent and Grand i10 are doing very well for the company and the company is readying an update for the Verna in this quarter. 

3. Mahindra 

Mahindra sales grew in December, the company benefiting from the impending excise hikes. The company sold 17,311 units last month, a growth of 5 percent over the 16,436 units sold in December 2013. The sales were also boosted with a good response for the new Scorpio. Mahindra has a tough year ahead as SUVs are affected the most with the excise rollback.

4. Honda 

Honda enjoyed another fantastic month at the sales charts with the City firmly cementing its position at the top of the C-segment clocking 6012 units in December. Overall, Honda sold 14,428 units last month, a growth of 163 percent over the same period in 2013. Overall in the fiscal year, Honda crossed the one lakh sales mark in India for the first time selling a little over 1.31 lakh units. Sales of the Mobilio have dipped though to 2,098 units and Honda must be hoping for consolidation around this mark in the coming months. The Jazz has been delayed a few months and will most likely go on sale here in the second quarter only.

5. Tata Motors

Tata Motors got back into the top five in December 2014 edging past Toyota by a few hundred units. Tata sold 12,040 units in December, a growth of 30 percent to the corresponding period last year. The growth is majorly driven by a fairly strong product in the Zest. Tata Motors also says that the Nano is turning around and doing better than in the past. UV sales declined by 24 percent to 2,084 units. Cumulative sales of all passenger vehicles in the domestic market for the fiscal stood at 92,227 units, lower by 11% over last year.

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