Indian Car Sales Analysis : January, 2015

When Indian Govt. withdrew the excise duty cut in January, everyone was thinking that it will affect sales and numbers will fall drastically. However, when we finally got the numbers for January, 2015 almost every major auto manufacturer has registered growth than the December, 2014. Looking at the fact that manufacturers were giving big discounts in December and car prices have been hiked 4 to 6 percent, the growth in January can be termed satisfactory. According to SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers), the passenger car segment registered a growth of 3.17 per cent over the corresponding month last year.

The sales of Passenger Vehicles grew by 3.62 percent in April-January 2015 over the same period last year. Within the Passenger Vehicles segment, Passenger Cars and Utility Vehicles grew by 4.79 percent and 5.58 percent respectively, while Vans declined by (-) 12.15 percent in April-January 2015 over the same period last year. We are doing a complete sales analysis to make you understand that how the first month of the year went for the Indian Automobile Industry.

Top-5 Manufacturers:

In 2014, we saw a consistency in the top-5 list and it was similar throughout the year, but 2015 is going to be different and we have a new entrant in the top-5 list. With its newly launched hatchback Tata Bolt, Tata Motors has entered in the top-5 list after a long time. Toyota is now at 6th position with sales of 12650 units, which is the best of manufacturer in last 12 months, however Tata performed even better and secured 5th position with 13047 units. Maruti Suzuki India continue to hold its numero uno position with a massive 46.48 per cent, while Hyundai India, Honda Cars India and Mahindra & Mahindra secure 2nd, 3rd and 4th position respectively.

Maruti Suzuki India:

Like always, MSI is on top again, the most loved brand sold 1.05 lakh units in January, 2015 and attained a 9.3 per cent growth. The Swift Duo showed a growth in sales as MSI sold 19669 units of Swift and 19553 units of Dzire. MSI also launched the new top-end trims of its flagship sedan Ciaz, which contributed to its sales and MSI succeeded in selling 6005 units of the sedan. Maruti Alto 800 remains the best seller for the manufacturer with sales of 22889 units. Maruti Suzuki India will be launching the facelifted Dzire in February and SX4 Cross and new Compact SUV will be launched on a later stage, indicating even better sales for the company in near future.

Hyundai Motor India:

The South Korean company continues to perform well and with a market share of 15.31 per cent, it holds the 2nd position in the Indian market. Hyundai India sold 34780 units in January, 2015, which was 4.1 per cent higher than January, 2014. With 9541 units, Elite i20 was the best seller for Hyundai India, Grand i10 with 8724 units was the second highest selling Hyundai car in India. Hyundai is launching updated Verna on 18th February and we are expecting that it will boost up the sales for mid-sized sedan. Later, Hyundai will launch i20 Cross and much anticipated compact SUV ix25. So, we are expecting that these new launches will add more numbers to Hyundai India’s sales.

Honda Cars India:

Honda Cars India has regained its 3rd position in India with sales of 18324 cars in January, 2015 attending a growth of 17% as the company sold 15,714 units in the corresponding month last year. Honda City continue to be its best seller with 7667 units. Amaze did 6709 units, while Honda sold 2940 units of Mobilio. Honda is planning to launch the Jazz in April, which will help manufacturer to pull more sales.

Mahindra & Mahindra:

M&M was putting good sales, since the launch of Scorpio facelift, however, M&M sales went down by 5 percent as the company sold 18,804 passenger vehicles in January 2015 in comparison to 19,792 units in January, 2014. However, the numbers are better than December, which were 16852 units. Mahindra Scorpio did good sales in January, 2015 as M&M sold 5000 units last month, the highest selling SUV - Bolero also did well with 8515 units.

Tata Motors:

After a long time, Tata Motors entered into the top-5 list. The newly launched Tata Zest and Bolt helped Tata to do so. Zest did 2757 units, while Bolt garnered 2457 units. Tata Nano also showed up some growth with 2000 units. As a slew of new launches are schedule in 2015, we are expecting even better from Tata Motors.

TOP-10 CARS IN INDIA

Maruti Suzuki India like always holds the first 4 positions in the top-10 list with its Maruti Alto 800, Swift Dzire, WagonR and Swift. There is interesting twist in the tail that Swift did more units than the Dzire, which is rarely seen. Hyundai Grand i10 and Elite i20 secure the 5th and 6th positions while, the small EON is at 9th place. Mahindra Bolero remained the most popular SUV in India and secured 7th position in the list. Honda got the rest two position as its popular mid-sized sedan City secures the 8th positing, while the fortune changer Amaze gets the 10th. Maruti Suzuki cars were chasing close and Ertiga, Omni and Ciaz secure 11th, 12th and 13th position with 6000 and more units.

TOP-5 HATCHBACKS IN INDIA:

As the hatchback segment holds the massive 49 per cent of the Indian car market, it also has the biggest volume crunchers. In January, 2015, there were no major changes in the top-5 hatchback list  and Alto remained at the top with 21443 units, while Suzuki Swift continues at no.2  with sales of 19669 units. Suzuki WagonR also retained its no.3 position with 12861 units. On the other hand, Hyundai retailed 9541 units of Elite i20, which was higher than the Grand i10’s 8724 units. As there are two-three big launches slated in upcoming months like updated Ford Figo and Honda Jazz, we are expecting new contenders for the top-5 list and it will be interesting to see how these new cars perform on sales charts.

TOP-5 SEDANS IN INDIA

With time sedans are regaining their lost ground and with a 25 per cent share, sedans are the second most popular segment in the Indian car market. The segment is largely dominated by entry level sedans and mid-sized sedans. Maruti Swift Dzire tops the segment with 19533 units of Dzire. Honda City grabs the second position with 7667 units and Amaze secures 3rd position with 6709 units. The newly launched top-end variants of Ciaz helped it to put good numbers and it secured 4th position with a sale of 6005 units. Hyundai retailed 4110 units of the Xcent, which helped it to get the 5th position in the list. Looking at the launch of updated Verna on 18th February, for which the bookings have already started, there might be some changes in this list next month.

TOP-5 SUVS IN INDIA

Despite the 5 percent fall in its sales, Mahindra & Mahindra, the indigenous utility vehicle maker, retains its position of the no.1 SUV maker as its 3 SUV secure place in the top-5 list. The SUV segment holds 9 per cent of the total sales, which is largely dominated by Mahindra. Mahindra Bolero tops the list with 8515 units, which is the most sold SUVs in India for quite a long time. Apart from Mahindra, two compact SUVs – EcoSport and Duster hold the 3rd and 4th spot.

TOP-5 MUVS/MPVS IN INDIA

The MUV segment is expanding at a good speed all over the world and in India also it holds 16 per cent of the total passenger vehicle sales. The versatile nature of MUVs and their people mover image helped them to be sold like hot cakes. The segment is being led by Maruti Suzuki as its three vehicles secure place in the list. Maruti Suzuki Ertiga leads the list with a total sale of 6036 units, while Omni with 6011 units is at 2nd position. One of the most loved MPV Innova secured 3rd spot with 5147 units. Honda Mobilio failed to pick-up in January also and secured 5th spot with 2940 units.