Car Sales October 2017: Carmakers See Positive Growth During Diwali Month

It's during the festive seasons when car manufacturers see some of the best numbers in terms of sales. Especially around Diwali, there is a considerable surge in car sales and it shows in their sales figures which the companies have shared for the month of October 2017. The country's leading car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki India registered a total of 9.5 per cent growth last month, while Toyota Kirloskar Motors saw a growth of 6 per cent. On the other hand Mahindra saw a drop of 5 per cent in passenger vehicle Sales in October 2017.

Maruti Suzuki India

The Indo-Japanese carmaker sold a total of 1.46 lakh units in October 2017, registering a growth of 9.5 per cent, against the 1.33 lakh units in October 2016. The total sales also include the 1.36 lakh units sold in the domestic market along with the 10,446 units which are exported and both saw a growth of 9.9 per cent and 4.2 per cent respectively.

Also Read: Maruti Suzuki Car Sales September 2017

(Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza largely aided in the company's UV sales)

As seen in the past few month, Maruti Suzuki's UV sales have also gone up by 29.8 per cent compared the last October's sales, with the company selling 23,382 units in October 2017, compared to the 18,008 sold during the same month last year. Of course, most of the credits go to the Vitara Brezza, which has been doing an average of over 15,000 units a month. Similarly, compact car sales went up by 24.7 per cent with 62,480 units against the 50,116 units sold in October 2016. About half of this is from the new-gen Maruti Suzuki Dzire, which has been selling over 30,000 units a month since the past three months.

Maruti Suzuki Alto and WagonR's sales went down by 4.2 per cent

Having said all that, it wasn't all peaches for the company last month as sales of the carmaker's entry-level cars Alto and WagonR went down by 4.2 per cent. The company sold 32,490 units in October 2017 compared to the 33,929 units sold in October 2016.

Toyota India

Toyota Kirloskar Motors saw somewhat similar sales performance in the month of October 2017 with the company registering a total growth of 6 per cent with of 14,000 units compared to the 12,625 units from October 2016. Toyota Kirloskar Motor sold a total of 12,403 units in the domestic market compared to the 11,651 units sold in October 2016. The company exported 1597 units of the Etios series in October 2017 compared to the 974 units exported last year during the same month.

Toyota Etios Cross X-Edition was launched in India in October 2017

Commenting on the monthly sales, N. Raja, Director & Sr. Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, "We are happy that the festive season has given a positive push to the domestic sales in the auto industry. There is a spur in the customer demand. Innova Crysta and Fortuner continues to enjoy good growth in demand in the market. We are utilizing one of our plant to the maximum capacity to ensure the waiting period is reduced and thank our customers for their patience and trust.

Mahindra and Mahindra

The country's leading UV maker Mahindra and Mahindra saw a drop in sales in the month of October 2017. Passenger sales went down by 5 per cent with the company selling 23,413 vehicles in October 2017, as against 24,737 vehicles during October 2016. On the other hand, commercial vehicle sales went up by 7 per cent as the company sold 19,279 units in October 2017 compared to 18,059 sold during the same month last year. Exports took a major hit last month at 2,331 units against the 3,279 exported in October 2016, seeing a drop of 29 per cent. Last month Mahindra also launched the facelifted Mahindra KUV100 in India.

Also Read: Mahindra Car Sales September 2017

The company's total sales including passenger vehicles, commercial vehicle and exports

Last month Mahindra launched the KUV100 NXT in India

Commenting on the monthly performance, Rajan Wadhera, President, Automotive Sector, Mahindra and Mahindra said, "The auto industry has had a mixed month. The build up to Dhanteras & Diwali was good but the demand tapered off subsequently. Last year all festivals were in the month of October and the industry volumes had a high base. This year, September and October combined, we have grown by 7.9% in Auto Division. Going forward we enter into a year-end period of lower sales. Our refreshes & new variants, that have been launched, will carve out a niche and we expect to sustain the growth momentum for the remaining period of the current financial year."

Tata Motors

Tata Motors registered a decent amount of growth in October 2017, especially in the commercial vehicle space.The company's domestic passenger and commercial vehicle business, recorded a cumulative growth of 5 per cent at 48,886 units, in October 2017, compared to October 2016, last year. The Passenger vehicle business alone recorded a growth of 1 per cent with sales of 16,475 units over October 2016. Tata credits this growth to the continued performance of the three new cars launched in India this year, the Hexa, Tigor and Nexon and the already popular Tiago hatchback.

(Tata Nexon is the newest offering from Tata Motors)

The company's sales from exports stood at 4,311 units in October 2017, a decline of 32 per cent, due to continued drop in TIV in Sri Lanka (by 53 per cent) and Nepal (by 46 per cent). The company's growth was driven by strong sales performance in Pick-up (45 per cent) & ILCVs (7 per cent).

Ford India

Ford India also saw a considerable drop in total sales last month with the company registering 32 per cent de-growth with 15,033 vehicles in October 2017 compared to the 22,043 vehicles in the same month last year. Domestic sales in October stood at 4218 vehicles, as against 7,508 units sold a year ago during the same month. Exports also went down by 25 per cent at 10,815 vehicles in October 2017 compared to 14,535 units exported in October 2016.

(New 2017 Ford EcoSport Facelift)

The company is optimistic about coming months though, especially with the 2017 EcoSport set to be launched later this month. Set to be launched on November 09th, the comprehensively redesigned EcoSport will have a rugged new look, a sleek interior makeover, a raft of ingenious technologies and a new engine, offering more power & efficiency.

Commenting on the company performance Anurag Mehrotra, President & Managing Director, Ford India said, "The ramp up for new model introduction has impacted our wholesale for October. We are excited to have the All-New Ford EcoSport be on the side of the Indian customers very soon."

Hyundai India

Hyundai Motor India registered domestic sales of 49,588 units for the month of October 2017 which is lower compared to the 50,017 units sold in the same month a year ago. The company has yet not given out the export numbers for the month.

(Hyundai India had 3 new launches this year alone including the new Verna)

Commenting on the October sales Mr. Rakesh Srivastava, Director - Sales and Marketing, HMIL said, "Hyundai did its highest retail of over 50,000 units in a festival month, with a wholesale of 49,588 units on the strength of strong demand for Grand i10, i20 and Creta. In addition, the new-gen Verna received strong customer response with over 20,000 cumulative bookings and 15,000 enquiries"