Four-wheeler sales in India for April 2016

In terms of sales, April 2016 is turning out to be a good month for most passenger vehicle manufacturers just like March 2016. While some manufacturers like Hyundai India have registered a modest growth of 9.7 per cent, others like Maruti Suzuki have registered a growth of 16.2 per cent. Here's a compilation of the sales numbers released by individual manufacturers.

Ford India

Ford India has announced that it has sold 6,351 units in the passenger vehicle segment in April 2016. During the corresponding period last year it had sold 4,931 units. The carmaker had recently recalled 42,300 units of the Figo and Figo Aspire to rectify a software issue with the ECU's Restraint Control Module (RCM).

"Our three-pronged brand transformation strategy based on introducing products that customers want and value, addressing the cost of ownership perception and delivering a differentiated customer experience has enabled us to deliver above industry growth rate." said Anurag Mehrotra, executive director, marketing, sales and service at Ford India.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd

Hyundai India has fared marginally better in April 2016 compared to the corresponding period last year. In April 2016 it has registered a sales growth 9.7 per cent with 42,351 units sold in the domestic market  compared to 38,601 units sold in April 2015.

Speaking on the company's sales performance, Rakesh Srivastava,  senior vice president sales and marketing, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. said, "In an industry seeing challenges on rural sales, diesel vehicle sales, Hyundai continued its growth momentum with volume growth of 9.7% over last year with strong performance of the Creta, Elite i20, Grand i10 with increasing preference of customers for new age brands supported by strong service assurance and low cost of ownership."

The Hyundai Creta continues to be a popular choice among buyers. And to attract more buyers, Hyundai recently launched the automatic variant for petrol Creta in India at Rs 14.50 lakh. The petrol variant was previously offered with just a manual transmission.

Honda Cars India Ltd

In the passenger vehicle segment, the company registered sales of 10,486 units in April 2016. During the corresponding period last year, the company had sold 12,636 units. Honda will launch it's compact SUV, the BR-V in India on May 5, 2016 and we have driven it in India.

Speaking on the company's sales performance Jnaneswar Sen, senior vice president, marketing and sales said, "The automobile industry is facing big challenge because of sudden shift in consumer preferences from Diesel to Petrol. Moreover the continuing ban on diesel has also impacted consumer sentiment. All these have impacted HCIL sales as there is a big mismatch in demand and availability of required variants. We are now taking corrective measures to address the situation. Despite the current challenges, HCIL is confident of positive growth in this fiscal. "

Maruti Suzuki India Limited

India's biggest carmaker has sold a total of 1,17,045 units in the passenger vehicle segment in April 2016 registering a growth of 16.2 per cent.  In April 2015, the company registered sales of 1,00,709 units.

To attract more buyers Maruti Suzuki has announced that it plans to double it's existing sales network by 2020. The company is also planning to launch 250 Nexa outlets in the current fiscal. The carmaker will also expand it's product portfolio by launching the Ignis and the Baleno RS this year.

Mahindra & Mahindra

Mahindra and Mahindra has reported a 16 per cent growth in the passenger vehicles segment with 22,655 units sold during April 2016. During the corresponding period last year, that company had registered sales of 19,464 units.

Commenting on the sales performance, Pravin Shah, president and chief executive (automotive), M&M Ltd. said, "At Mahindra we are happy to have begun the new financial year with a growth of 14%. We do hope that the Honorable Supreme Court, while taking a decision  on diesel vehicles ban in NCR region on May 9,  will  take cognizance of all the facts including  the role that the automotive industry plays in the country's industrial growth. Going forward we hope to maintain our growth momentum with our wide range of product portfolio as well as  the new  launches of variants and refreshes, as per the need of  our customers. "