The automobile industry has got its momentum back with April's overall vehicle sales rising by 9.83 per cent, thanks to reduced excise duty in the 2008-09 Budget.
According to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), the domestic passenger car sales managed a growth of 17.15 per cent in April. Total domestic vehicles sale in April stood at 8,06,238 units, against 7,34,103 units in the same month last year.
The Union Budget 2008-09 proposed a reduction in excise duty on small cars to 12 per cent from 16 per cent and a similar cut on two and three wheelers, and buses and chassis. The passenger car segment clocked a sale of 98,740 units during the month, against 84,283 units in the same month a year ago, Siam said.
Segment leader Maruti Suzuki India registered an increase of 22.30 per cent at 51,766 units, against 42,326 units in the same month in 2007. Rival Hyundai Motors sold 21,492 units during the month, against 15,697 units last year, up 36.92 per cent.
Tata Motors, however, recorded a decline of 17.10 per cent at 11,193 units, against 13,502 units in the same month previous year.
General Motors India had a 21.65 per cent jump in its sales with its hatchback 'Spark' continuing a good run. The company's overall sales stood at 3,411 units, compared to 2,804 units last year.
On the motorcycles front, the industry witnessed a reasonably good growth in April with the segment registering a jump of 8.31 per cent at 5,01,592 units, against 4,63,091 units during the year-ago month, Siam said.
According to Siam, during April, motorcycle market leader Hero Honda Motors registered sale of 2,76,580 units, against 2,55,408 units in the same period during 2007, up 8.29 per cent. Rival Bajaj Auto also recorded a similar increase of 9.19 per cent at 1,38,117 units, against 1,26,494 units last year.
TVS Motor sales were up by 2.35 per cent at 49,186 units, against 48,058 units in the same month last year. Total two-wheeler sales in April rose by eight per cent at 6,16,038 units, compared to 5,70,381 units in the same month last year, it added.
In the scooters segment, total sales witnessed 11.93 per cent increase at 81,002 units, against 72,369 units. Scooter market leader Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, however, registered sales of 47,396 units, against 48,488 units, down 2.25 per cent, while Hero Honda Motors pushed its sales over four-fold at 5,832 units from 1,291 units in the same month last year.
The new entrant in the scooter segment during the month was Suzuki Motorcycle India, which sold a good 5,877 units. Pune-based Kinetic Motor had a slump of sales at 2,798 units, against 3,221 units last year, down by 13.13 per cent.
On the three-wheeler segment, total domestic sales stood at 26,916 units, against 25,545 units, up by 5.37 per cent. Sales of commercial vehicle also increased by 7.62 per cent to 33,271 units during April from 30,914 units for the year-ago period, Siam data said.
Medium and heavy commercial vehicles sales were up by 5.28 per cent at 18,608 units, against 17,674 units last year. Light commercial vehicles also registered a rise of 10.75 per cent at 14,663 units, against 13,240 units in the same month last year, Siam said.