The contributors to the positive growth of Indian car market

We are still in the last quarter of 2014, but can say that after a sluggish period of negative growth, the Indian automobile industry is again getting momentum. This growth, however, is more an aftermath of the excise duty benefit provided by government in February, 2014. The year started with an in-significant January with the industry showing no signs of improvement. The February brought some happiness, as the industry put a brilliant show at 2014 Auto Expo in Delhi and we witnessed lots of new and upcoming cars. Just after the Auto Expo, Govt. lowered the excise duty on small cars, scooters, motorcycles and commercial vehicles to 8% from 12% while that on SUVs was reduced to 24% from 30%. The duty on large cars was reduced to 24% from 27% and midsized cars to 20% from 24%.

The excise duty cut leads the industry to a positive growth of 4.25 percent in passenger vehicle segment. The growth is 4.09 per cent for passenger car and 12.17 per cent for utility vehicles (April – September, 2014). Apart from this excise duty cut, there were also some brilliant launches as well that lead their respective manufacturers and the industry to a positive half yearly result. To name a few Maruti Celerio, Hyundai Xcent, Honda Mobilio, Hyundai Elite i20. Let’s talk about the cars and manufacturers, which gain the most in 2014

Maruti Suzuki India:

The ace manufacturer in India, Maruti Suzuki has the biggest share in the market with a whopping 45.44 per cent (Sept, 2014). The manufacturer is selling around 99,000 vehicles every month and its offerings Alto, Swift, Dzire, WagonR, Omni and Celerio get a spot is top-10 selling cars in India. When we count top-20 best sellers the Eeco and Ertiga also join the group. With the newly launched Ciaz, the manufacturer is expecting even bigger sales volumes. The response to Ciaz has been quite good and Maruti knows how to in-cash it.

Hyundai:

With a market share of 16.04 percent, Hyundai has shown a good growth this year. With new entrants Hyundai Xcent and Elite i20, the manufacturer is getting stronger. Hyundai is launching products in popular segments, which is helping it and we are expecting good growth in near future as well.

Mahindra & Mahindra:

Mahindra is the no.1 utility vehicle manufacturer in India with a market share of 8.78%. As the segment is still showing good growth than the rest of the industry and manufacturer recently upgraded its popular SUV Scorpio, we are expecting good sales performance in coming months as well.

Honda:

The Japanese manufacturer is known for its premium products and the launch the next gen City and new MPV- Mobilio provide a significant leap to Honda. The company now holds 6.87 per cent of the Indian market and launch of new Jazz in next year will certainly add to it.

Toyota:

Another manufacturer, which focuses on utility vehicle segment in country, is Toyota. The Japanese manufacturer holds 5.74 per cent in the Indian market. Toyota is doing well with its Innova and Fortuner. There are reports that the Japanese manufacturer is going to update its hatch-sedan duo - the Etios and Liva soon that will surely add to its sales.

Top-10 Best Sellers:

The top-10 list hasn’t been changed much, Maruti Suzuki still holds 5 spots, Bolero continues to shine. Hyundai has its contribution intact.  However, the Sept sales figures throw City out, which was doing well whole the year, because of a production shift to the Tapukara plant. Another top selling car was Hyundai Xcent that failed to make in September top-seller list, Hyundai is selling around 6000 units of Xcent every month.  

New Launches in 2014:

There have been lots of new launches in 2014, but 5 cars doing exceptionally well. These are Maruti Celerio, Hyundai Elite i20, Xcent, Honda Mobilio and City. The sales data shows that the cars are garnering good numbers and recently launched Maruti Ciaz and New Scorpio will also join this chart soon.

Segment wise volume distribution:

The small cars hold command on the Indian car market. The hatchbacks contributes a massive chunk of 49 per cent of overall sales, sedans comes second with 22 per cent, currently the both segments are showing a cumulative growth of 4.09 per cent. On the other hand the utility vehicles contribute 29 per cent, out of which SUVs are 10 per cent and MUVs are 19 per cent, the utility vehicles are showing a good growth of 12.17 per cent.

Forecast:

We are hoping that the market will continue to show positive growth. As the ongoing festive season and extended excise duty benefit till year end will surely improve the sales. Apart from that new launches like Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, 2014 Mahindra Scorpio and anticipated launches like Fiat Avventura, Tata Bolt, Swift and Dzire Facelift will also help in maintaining positive growth.