New Delhi, March 10: The rough ride for the Indian automobile industry continued with the overall vehicle sales declining by 10.34 per cent in February, mainly on account of falling motorcycle sales, down by 17.68 per cent.
According to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the domestic passenger car sales managed a growth of 2.31 per cent in February.
Total domestic vehicles sale in February stood at 7,42,027 units, against 8,27,594 units in the same month last year.
The passenger car segment, which had managed to beat the high interest rates blues so far, clocked a marginal improvement at 94,756 units during the month, against 92,618 units in the same month a year ago, SIAM said.
Segment leader Maruti Suzuki India registered an increase of 2.16 per cent at 51,762 units, against 50,666 units in the same month in 2007.
Rivals Hyundai Motors sold 14,591 units during the month, against 15,432 units last year, down 5.45 per cent. Tata Motors also registered a decline of 16.02 per cent at 13,451 units, against 16,016 units in the same month previous year.
General Motors India, however, had a near three-fold jump in sales with its hatchback 'Spark' continuing a good run.
The company's overall sales stood at 3,691 units, compared to 1,286 units last year.
Industry experts attributed the drop in car sales to postponing of purchases by customers in expectation of excise duty cut in the Budget.
On the motorcycles front, the slump continued with the segment registering a fall of 17.68 per cent at 4,25,089 units, against 5,16,410 units a year ago, SIAM said.
According to SIAM, during February, motorcycle market leader Hero Honda Motors registered sale of 2,47,735 units, against 2,67,856 units in the same period in 2007, down 7.51 per cent.
Bajaj Auto also recorded a decline of 26.51 per cent at 1,07,768 units, against 1,46,642 units last year. TVS Motor sales fell by 44.12 per cent at 35,410 units, against 63,373 units in the same month last year.
Total two-wheeler sales in February slipped by 14.25 per cent at 5,42,578 units, compared to 6,32,712 units in the same month last year, it added.
In the scooters segment, total sales witnessed a marginal increase at 83,256 units, against 82,944 units. Scooter market leader Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India registered sales of 52,685 units, against 49,952 units, up 5.47 per cent, while Hero Honda Motors managed to push sales by 1.15 per cent at 7,577 units from 7,491 units in...
