Auto sales on a roll in May; Maruti, Hero Honda set records

New Delhi, June 1 (PTI) The Indian auto industry
continued to cruise in May, with major auto makers like Maruti
Suzuki and Hero Honda registering record sales, breaking the
usual trend of lower volumes in the months following the
Union Budget.
Almost all manufacturers carried forward the momentum of
record sales achieved consecutively in February and March,
with the companies posting double digits growth in May, even
though the period between April and June is usually associated
with low sales, which again picks up around the start of the
festive season in September-October.
In May, the country's largest car-maker, Maruti Suzuki
India, recorded its highest ever monthly global sales of
1,02,175 units, a jump of 27.92 per cent over the same month
last year. This is the first time that the company's global
sales crossed the one lakh units-mark.
"This is the highest ever monthly sales for the company.
We are trying to beat the usual cycle of low selling months in
the period following the Union Budget and before the advent of
the monsoon season," Maruti Suzuki India Managing Executive
Officer (Marketing and Sales) Mayank Pareek told PTI.
The company posted its best figures in the domestic
market also, with sales of 90,041 units against 70,785 units
in May, 2009, an increase of 27.20 per cent.
Rival Hyundai Motor's total global sales in May increased
by 7.30 per cent to 46,808 units against 43,624 units in the
same month last year. It reported a jump of 15.52 per cent in
domestic sales to 27,151 units.
Homegrown auto major Tata Motors' total sales soared by
41.26 per cent last month to 56,779 units from 40,196 units in
the year-ago period.
Mahindra & Mahindra's total sales also saw an increase of
68.90 per cent to 28,486 units in May, 2010, against 16,866
units in May, 2009.
Carmaker General Motors India's May sales climbed by
60.99 per cent to 8,225 units, compared to 5,109 units in the
same month last year. Toyota Kirloskar Motor also reported a
54.18 per cent jump in sales in May to 6,050 units against
3,924 units in the corresponding month last year.
Ford India reported an over three-fold jump in May sales
to 8,080 units against 2,168 units during the same month last
year. Czech car-maker Skoda Auto's sales grew by 30.04 per
cent to 1,381 units from 1,062 units in the same month of
2009.
However, Honda Siel Cars India's sales declined
marginally in May to 4,067 units from 4,073 units in the same
month last year. MORE PTI