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Passenger Vehicle Despatches Moderate In October 

Automakers sold a total of 1,95,036 passenger cars during October

Traffic moves along a highway during evening rush hour in Delhi, India (Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)  
Traffic moves along a highway during evening rush hour in Delhi, India (Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg)  

It was a muted October for passenger carmakers, with the category posting a 0.4 percent rise in passenger car dispatches, according to data released by industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). This comes on the back of a moderately high base in the same period last year.

Automakers sold a total of 1,95,036 passenger cars during the month gone by, versus 1,94,158 units despatched in October, 2015.

SIAM is not getting too perturbed right now as Director General Vishnu Mathur pointed out the 4.3 percent growth rate recorded between April to September in the current financial year.

As a positive contrast, sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCV), which had been falling month after month, rose 16.9 percent in October. This number however comes on the back of a relatively small base. Manufacturers sold a total of 22,181 M&HCVs during October 2015, and the number rose to 25,934 units this time around. To put things in perspective, 20,836 commercial medium and heavy commercial vehicles were sold in October 2012.

Two-wheeler despatches in October rose 8.7 percent on year to 18.01 lakh units, with scooter sales growing 8.2 percent. Total scooter sales stood at 5,68,410 units, while motorcycle sales were at 11.44 lakh units.

Exports were largely pulled down by the motorcycle segment, which saw overseas sales fall yet again. Total vehicle exports were flat year-on-year at 2,90,243 units, even as motorcycle volumes contracted 6.4 percent to 1,57,088 units. Mathur cited an economic slowdown in overseas markets like Latin America and Africa as the reason for this dip and said the trend was likely to continue till the situation in those countries improved.

Market Share War

The top five manufacturers in the passenger vehicle segment, as per domestic sales, held on to their respective positions in September. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. continued to lead the pack, but saw its market share shrink marginally to 44.1 percent in October, while Hyundai Motor India Pvt. Ltd. came in a distant second with a 17.8 percent market share.

Taking the final spot on the podium, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., held a market share of 8.8 percent, while Tata Motors Ltd., in fourth place, took 6.3 percent of the pie. Honda Cars India Ltd., came fifth with a market share of 5.5 percent.

In the commercial vehicle segment, leader Tata Motors had a market share of 43.8 percent, while second-placed Mahindra & Mahindra claimed 27.5 percent. Chennai-based Ashok Leyland Ltd., was in third place, with a market share of 17.5 percent.

Among two-wheeler manufacturers, Hero MotoCorp Ltd. continued to top the list but with Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. closing in. While Hero MotoCorp’s market share was 36.1 percent, Honda Motorcycle owned 26.1 percent of the segment sales.

In third place, TVS Motor Company Ltd., accounted for 15.1 percent of the domestic two-wheeler sales, with Bajaj Auto Ltd. capturing 11.8 percent of the two-wheeler sales pie. A distant fifth, India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd., had a market share of 4.8 percent.