Mumbai: Passenger car sales remained almost flat in November as companies adjusted their inventory after a weak festive season. Subdued consumer sentiment, volatile fuel prices and inflation are likely to remain demand dampeners but new model launches in the coming months are expected to help drive sales, car makers said on Saturday. The top five carmakers — Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai Motor India, Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra and Honda Cars India—sold a combined 219,722 vehicles last month, compared with 219,746 units a year earlier.
Automakers consider factory dispatches to dealerships as sales. In the 42-day festive period till Diwali in early November, retail sales of passenger vehicles fell 14 per cent, said the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association, attributing it mainly to the liquidity crunch faced by financiers.
Maruti Suzuki posted a 0.68 per cent drop in domestic car sales last month to 129,837 units, from 130,732 units a year earlier. Sales of Maruti have fallen in four of the past five months. The local subsidiary of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. matched Maruti’s performance, with a 0.68 per cent fall in local sales in November to 43,709 units. Robust sales of the new Santro small car failed to offset weak demand for other models of Hyundai.
