Auto sales continue to cruise ahead in April

New Delhi, May 1 (PTI) The Indian auto industry continued
to cruise ahead in April with auto makers such as Maruti
Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors recording good sales growth,
despite the recent round of price hikes.
Almost all the manufacturers carried on the momentum of
record sales achieved consecutively in February and March,
with companies posting double-digit growth in April inspite of
an increase in prices of vehicles due to the shift to Bharat
Stage IV emission norms.
In April, the country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki
India reported a jump of 29.70 per cent in total sales at
93,058 units over the same month last year.
Maruti Suzuki had sold 71,748 units during the same month
last year.
Rival Hyundai Motor's total sales for April 2010 jumped
17.24 per cent at 52,020 units against 44,370 units in the
year-ago period.
Homegrown auto major Tata Motors reported a 52.47 per
cent increase in total sales last month at 57,202 units,
compared to 37,518 units in the same month in 2009.
Another leading carmaker General Motors India saw its
sales climbing over two-fold to 10,601 units in April this
year compared to 4,823 units in the same month last year.
Carmaker Ford India also reported an over three-fold jump
in April sales at 7,509 units on the back of a good response
to its new small car Figo. It had sold 2,034 vehicle units in
April, 2009.
Premium carmaker Toyota Kirloskar Motor's sales rose by
77.23 per cent at 6,001 units against 3,386 units in the
corresponding month last year.
On the two-wheeler front, market leader Hero Honda's
sales remained flat in April. It sold 3,71,652 units compared
to 3,70,575 units in April last year.
Chennai-based TVS Motor Company reported a 27.91 per cent
increase in two-wheeler sales at 1,44,689 units.
It had sold 1,13,119 units in the corresponding month
last year.
Another two-wheeler maker India Yamaha Motor's sales rose
by 42.01 per cent at 24,960 units against 17,576 units in
the same month last year.
Suzuki Motorcycle India reported a 53.22 per cent growth
in sales in April at 20,771 units compared with 13,556
units in the same month last year. PTI