August 2014 auto sales analysis in India

Sales for the month of August picked up considerably across most segments. In the passenger vehicle space, Maruti posted a stellar growth of 27 per cent YoY due to a big boost of 53.2 per cent in the compact car sales. Management points out that there is visible increase in first time buyers and the growth has been across segments and not just with new models like the Celerio. This could also be attributed to massive discounts that the company has been offering across a wide range of its cars. Prime movers have been the Ertiga and the Dzire which saw huge discounts being offered to draw attention away from the newly launched Honda Mobilio and the Tata Zest. This has played out very strongly in favour of Maruti Suzuki with a remarkable increase in number of cars moving out of showrooms.

The encouraging bit this month is that not just in cars, the recovery has played out beautifully in the two-wheeler space as well. TVS Motor sales grew by a whopping 46 per cent to 2.27 lakh units while Eicher Motors saw a phenomenal 66 per cent growth in the premium Royal Enfield segment sales. In the case of TVS, sales have been led by a strong upswing in the scooter segment but what very few have noticed is a surprising demand for . The smallest end of the two-wheeler business has seen renewed interest recently and TVS is considering approaching the moped segment with more focus and commitment (Read OVERDRIVE's full story here).

But the biggest relief by far has come in for the medium and heavy commercial sector, the segment that got hit the hardest during the slowdown. MHCV sales for Ashok Leyland grew 18 per cent YoY, taking the overall sales growth to 16.5 per cent YoY. Most analysts are now building in a full year growth of 10 per cent for the MHCV sector, stating that the big surprise has come in from TVS and Ashok Leyland within the auto sector.

There is also a slew of new models slated to hit showrooms shortly led by the Maruti Ciaz. A complete departure from the sub 4-metre categories that Maruti is used to playing in, the Ciaz promises to offer a whole new experience to those looking at a premium sedan. Also expected to be offered to consumers shortly is the Tata Motors' Bolt hatchback, which is based on the same platform as the Zest. Hopefully between these two models, the market should see a resurgence to form. Also considering thatfestive season inventory buildup is expected only in September and the early part of October, August volumes are an indication of much better things to come!