Maruti Suzuki’s sales declined 19 per cent at 91,772 cars in November despite restoration

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in production due to low demand of petrol-driven small cars and diesel engine constraints. Other carmakers such as Hyundai Motor, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Toyota and General Motors led the industry back to growth trajectory on back of fuel-efficient diesel cars.

Honda Siel Cars was the only other exception, which saw sales sliding 50 per cent at 1,982 cars following disruption in supply of components due to Thailand floods last month. Notwithstanding a sales recovery in November, carmakers are not confident of growth in future months due to a sluggish market stimulated by lower economic growth, high interest rates and firm fuel prices.

“I don’t see sales growth over last year for the company. We are trying to come up to the same level as last year,” said RC Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki. The company sold 1.27 million cars last year. “We have 98,000 pending orders on diesel variant of Swift,” said Mayank Pareek, managing executive officer (marketing), Maruti Suzuki. The company sees flat or reduced sales on back of labour issues and constraint of diesel engines. The carmaker is in process of negotiating a diesel engine deal of up to 100,000 units per year, which would help lift diesel car output from January 2011. “We may increase car prices in January 2011 following depreciation in rupee against Yen,” Pareek added. The company has already increased diesel car prices by up to Rs 10,000 earlier this month.

Hyundai sold 57,080 cars showing growth of 28 per cent buoyed by Eon and Verna. “Our immediate outlook on the market is not too bright as interest rates and fuel prices are unlikely to soften in the foreseeable future,” said Arvind Saxena, director (marketing and sales) at Hyundai Motor India. Tata Motors sold 27,737 cars in November registering 81 per cent growth buoyed by Indica and Nano. “Sales of the Tata Nano were 6,401 units, compared to 509 units sold in November last year,” Tata Motors said in a statement. The company introduced a refreshed version of Nano with higher fuel efficiency offering new colour options.

Diesel utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra saw 53 per cent growth at 40,722 units buoyed by XUV500. “In spite of the market slowdown post the festive season, we have been able to maintain a consistent performance. All our brands are doing well with the excitement around XUV500 continuing, as we ramp up production,” said Rajesh Jejurikar, chief executive - automotive division, Mahindra & Mahindra.

Hero MotoCorp led the charge in two-wheeler industry selling 27 per cent more at 536,772 units in November. “Our sales continue to set new benchmarks in the industry. We have been maintaining five-lakh-plus sales since August 2011, when we had launched our new brand identity,” said Anil Dua, senior vice-president (marketing and sales), Hero MotoCorp. The ranking in two-wheeler industry by volumes saw a change first time in three decades. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India in its solo ride raced past Chennai-based TVS Motor selling 198,782 units against 175,535 units sold by the latter. While TVS saw falling motorcycle sales, Honda raced ahead with new lower priced variant of 150 cc CB Unicorn Dazzler.

“With Maruti’s production returning to normal, the revival in car sales growth is likely to be sustained. We expect seven to nine per cent growth in car sales volumes over the remainder of the fiscal, and thus maintain our forecast for 2011-12 at up to three percent,” said Sridhar Chandrasekhar, head of Crisil Research. According to Crisil, the industry saw six per cent growth in November compared with 38 per cent decline in October sales.