Car Sales February 2018: Maruti, Tata Mahindra See Growth, Ford Sees Drop

With the end of the second month of the 2018 calendar year, automakers have started sending out their sales report for the month of February. Courtesy of the Auto Expo 2018, and the huge number of launches we saw last month, car manufacturers have been registering considerable sales growth in February 2018. Based on the details we have so far, Maruti Suzuki India saw a substantial spike in sales numbers last month with total sales nearly touching the 1.5 lakh mark, which was majorly aided by the sales of the new-gen Swift hatchback. Toyota India, on the other hand, sold a total of 12,705 vehicles last month (domestic + exports).

Maruti Suzuki India

2018 Maruti Suzuki Swift was launched in India on February 9

Maruti Suzuki India's total sales for the month of February reached 149,824 vehicles, registering a growth of 15 per cent over the 130,280 vehicles sold in February 2017. Growth in the domestic market was also quite impressive, with the numbers reaching 137,900 units compared to the 120,599 units sold during the same month last fiscal year, registering a growth of 13.3 per cent. This was spearheaded by the new-gen Swift which was launched in early February 2018. As for exports, the carmakers registered a growth of 24.9 per cent with 11,924 units compared to the 9,545 units exported in February 2017.

Toyota India

Toyota Kirloskar Motor sold a total of 12,705 units in the month of February 2018, with a total growth of 4.88 per cent, compared to the 12,113 vehicles sold during the same month last year. Domestic sales saw a growth of 3 per cent with 11,864 units, against the 11,543 units sold in February 2017 in India. Exports saw a decent growth of almost 48 per cent at 841 units, compared to the 570 units exported in February 2017.

Toyota's exports, of the Etios range, grew by almost 48 per cent

Commenting on the sales performance, N. Raja, Deputy Managing Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, "We are happy that we have been able to sustain the positive growth trend registering a 3 per cent growth in February. We have started the year 2018 on a positive note with a cumulative growth of 11 per cent in the first two months of Jan -Feb 2018.

Ford India

Ford India total sales grew up to 23,965 vehicles in February 2018 as compared to 24,026 in the same month last year, registering a marginal de-growth of less than 1 per cent.The company's domestic wholesales, however, grew by almost 8 per cent to 9,041 vehicles in February from 8,338 vehicles sold in the same month last year. The growth can be attributed to the EcoSport facelift that the company launched in 2017.

We had expected the Ford EcoSport Facelift to boost sales for Ford India

The company showed a marginal de-growth in wholesale figures, however, that is majorly due to the drop in exports. Exports were at 14,924 units, seeing a drop of almost 5 per cent compared to 15,688 vehicles exported in February 2017.

The company also announced its decision to raise prices of all its vehicles by up to 4 per cent from March 1, 2018, after the Indian government's decision to increase import duty on auto components.

Mahindra and Mahindra

Mahindra registered 19 per cent growth in total sales with 51,127 units in February 2018, compared to the 42,826 units sold during the same month in 2017. Passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market went up by 8 per cent with the company selling 22,389 units in February 2018, compared to the 20,717 sold in February 2017. On the other hand, the commercial vehicle segment has a growth of 28 per cent in February 2018 with 20,946 vehicles, against the 16383 commercial vehicles sold during the same month last year. The company's total exports also saw double digit growth with 2,654 units against the 2,300 units exported last year in February 2017, registering a growth of 15 per cent.

Domestic PV sales went up by 8 per cent with 22,389 units being sold in February 2018

Commenting on the monthly performance, Rajan Wadhera, President, Automotive Sector, Mahindra and Mahindra, said, "We are happy with our February performance with the business having registered a growth of 19 per cent. This performance comes on the back of a sustained momentum and demand, both in the personal and commercial vehicle segments, which we believe will also continue in the month of March."

Tata Motors

Tata's sales in the UV segment grew by 165 per cent in February 2018

Last Month Tata Motors registered a total growth of 38 per cent with a total wholesale of 58,993 units, against to 42,679 units sold in February 2017. Tata's passenger vehicle sale saw a massive growth of 45 per cent with 17,771 units being sold in February 2018, against the 12,272 units sold during the same month last year. The carmaker credits this growth to the increasing demand for Tiago and Tigor along with Nexon and Hexa gaining traction in the steadily growing UV Segment. The company's sales from exports in February 2018 were accounted for 4768 units, a decline of 3 per cent over last year.

Tata Motors' Commercial Vehicles domestic sales in February 2018 were at 41,222 units, a growth of 36 per cent compared to 30,407 units in February 2017

Hyundai India

Hyundai India today announced a growth of 5.1 per cent for the month of February 2018, with total sales accounting for 55,422 units, against the 52,734 units that were sold during the same month last year. The car manufacturer's domestic sales were equally decent as the Hyundai registered the same 5.1 per cent growth with 44,505 units in February 2018, against the 42,327 sold in India during the same time last year. In terms of export, the carmaker saw similar growth of 4.9 per cent last month with 10,917 units against the 10,407 vehicles that were exported in February 2017.

Hyundai launched the new i20 facelift at the Auto Expo

Commenting on the February sales Rakesh Srivastava, Director - Sales and Marketing, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. said, "Hyundai grew by 5.1% with a volume of 44,505 units on strong performance of the newly launched modern premium brands new 2018 i20, next-gen Verna along with super performer Perfect SUV Creta in a growing market on the strength of stable interest rates and fuel prices in a faster-growing economy."