Four-wheeler sales in India for July 2016

Just like April, May and June, July 2016 has turned out to be a good month for most car manufacturers in India. At 126 per cent, Nissan Motor India has seen the highest sales growth in July 2016 over the corresponding period last year. Honda Cars India is the only manufacturer to have seen a decline in sales. Here's a round-up of the sales numbers from individual manufacturers.

Ford India

In July 2016, Ford India sold 7,076 units in the domestic passenger vehicle segment while it had sold 4,362 units in the corresponding period last year. Commenting on the sales performance, Anurag Mehrotra, executive director, marketing, sales and service at Ford India, said, "Ford in India is steadfast on its promise to deliver more value to customers. Our domestic wholesale growth is proof that the actions we are taking to enhance the entire customer experience matter to our customers. Our product-led transformation strategy is paying dividends as we continue to meet the diverse needs of customers with the most vibrant, feature-rich and value-for-money product portfolio ever, including the introduction of iconic Ford Mustang."

In April this year, Ford had suspended Figo and Figo Aspire deliveries due to faulty restraint control module.

Honda Cars India

The company has registered sales of 14,033 units in July 2016 while it had sold 18,606 units in the corresponding period last year. Even last month the company had seen a decline in sales. In July 2016, its highest selling model was the City with 4,317 units sold. The other popular models were the Jazz and the BR-V with 3,517 units and 3,333 units sold respectively.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited

In July 2016, Maruti Suzuki has registered a growth of 13.9 per cent over the corresponding period last year. The company sold a total of 1,25,778 units in July 2016 while 1,10,405 units were sold in July 2015.

According to sales data released by the company, it sold 93,634 passenger cars and 17,382 utility vehicles in July 2016. This is a growth of 2.2 per cent and a staggering 151.3 per cent respectively over the corresponding period last year. In July 2015, it had sold 91,602 passenger cars and 6,916 utility vehicles. In the utility vehicles segment, the Maruti Vitara Brezza, which was launched in March this year, has turned out to be a popular buy.

The vans segment comprising of the Omni and the Eeco has seen a 24.1 per cent jump in sales with 14,748 units sold in July 2016 compared to 11,887 units in July 2015.

Mahindra and Mahindra

In the domestic passenger vehicle segment, comprising of cars, utility vehicles and vans, Mahindra and Mahindra has sold 35,305 units, registering a good growth of 14 per cent. In the corresponding period last year, the company had sold 31,087 units.

In an official release, Pravin Shah, president and chief executive (automotive), Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd., said, "We are happy to have achieved a growth of 14 per cent during July 2016 in the midst of various regulatory challenges. The advent of a good monsoon, so far, has brought in positive sentiment for the economy and that is somewhat reflected in our performance. At Mahindra our growth is being driven by the various product launches of the last financial year, which have been in sync with customers' requirements. With a strong performance in our HCV business as well as our exports, we are hopeful of a positive outlook during the rest of the financial year."

Nissan Motor India

The company has announced a 126 per cent growth in sales for July 2016. Nissan India sold a total of 6,418 units in the month of July 2016 while it had sold 2,841 units in the corresponding period last year. Commenting on the growth, Arun Malhotra, managing director, Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd., said, "Our sales have been gaining momentum over the past few months and the trend has been encouraging. The customers have responded positively to the new Datsun redi-Go."

Toyota Kirloskar Motor

Unlike June 2016 in which the company had registered a good growth of 29 per cent, July 2016 has not turned out to be as exciting. The company has announced a mediocre growth of 3 per cent in July 2016 over the corresponding period last year. Toyota sold 12,404 units in the domestic passenger vehicle segment in July 2016 compared to 12,070 units in July 2015.

N. Raja, director and senior vice president, sales and marketing, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, "We had to shut down production at our Bidadi plant on 30th July on account of Karnataka bandh in the absence of which our growth would have been more in terms of sales. Although the new Innova Crysta has been doing well, the ban on registration of diesel vehicles has stalled the extent of our growth. We respect the honorable Supreme Court's judgment regarding cleaning the bad air quality around us. We are confident that honorable court will consider our submissions during the next hearing and hope the matter is amicably resolved at the earliest. Launched in May 2016, the Innova Crysta still has a waiting period of up to two months, and we request our customers to be a bit more patient with us so that we can bring the best products to them."