June 2016 Car Sales: Automakers Register Positive Figures

1) Ford

Ford's numbers increased, despite the Figo and Aspire not being popular sellers

Despite its mass market products the Figo and Figo Aspire struggling to gain momentum in their respective segments, Ford India recorded positive sales in May 2016, in both domestic and export operations. Compared to the 7979 units sold in June 2015, Ford India sold 9469 units last month registering a growth of 18.67 per cent. The companies exports grew as well last month by three times with 10,285 vehicles shipped out, as compared to 3452 units last year.

Having witnessed a slowdown in its growth momentum, the American car maker now has a revival plan in place along with an aggressive marketing strategy. The company is working to improve the trust factor among customers and kick started various schemes like the Service Price Promise and the Parts Calculator. Speaking on the positive sales for June 2016, Anurag Mehrotra, Executive Director, Marketing, Sales, and Service at Ford India said, "At Ford, we have continued to maintain a strong growth momentum thanks to our transparent and industry first service initiatives like Service Price Promise and Parts Calculator."

Adding further, he said, "The recent announcements of Seventh Pay Commission, along with the prediction of normal monsoon and scrappage policy are keeping the industry optimistic about future growth." Having launched the Endeavour this year, Ford's next launch will be the much awaited Mustang set to go on sale later this month.

2) Mahindra

The KUV100 has been a positive contributor to Mahindra's volumes

Mahindra has been one of the consistently selling automakers and sales for June 2016 say no different. The company recorded cumulative sales of 39,011 units in June 2016 inclusive of domestic and exports numbers, clocking an 8 per cent growth over the same period last year. Sales for domestic vehicles stood at 34,991 units last month, growing at 7 per cent, against the 15,880 vehicles sold in June 2015.

With respect to exports, things were positive for the Indian UV manufacturer with 4020 units shipped, registering a healthy growth of 41 per cent. Having achieve 11 per cent growth in the first quarter of the financial year, the company said that it is now looking at a good monsoon and subsequently rural prosperity to be the sales driver for the remainder of the year.

Mahindra also suggested that the Supreme Court reconsiders its decision regarding diesel vehicles ban in the NCR region and will take cognizance of all the facts, including the role that the automotive industry plays in the country's industrial growth.

3) Renault

The Kwid continues to be Renault's growth driver in India

One of the fastest growing automotive brands in the country, Renault India registered a whopping growth of 173 per cent in June this year, with monthly sales of 11,837 units. In contrast, the company sold a mere 4340 units in June last year. Most obviously, the newfound growth momentum is backed by the success of the Kwid that has been doing exceptionally well since its launch last year.

Renault India's other popular seller is the Duster compact SUV, but has been hardly instrumental to make a dent in the segment after the arrival of the Hyundai Creta. The French automaker's cumulative sales for the period of January to June stands at 61,895 as against 23,346 in the corresponding period last year, thereby registering a growth of 165 per cent.

The company has been working to expand its presence across the country and is currently in the process of increasing its touch points to 270 outlets by the end of 2016 from the current 210 sales points. The new 1.0-litre and AMT variants set to be launched in the remainder of the year are expected to retain the growth in the following months as well.

4) Hyundai

The Creta is one of the best sellers from Hyundai at present

The second largest car maker in the country in terms of sales, Hyundai Car India registered cumulative sales of 52,062 units in June 2016, growing by 7 per cent over the same period last year. The car maker's domestic sales stood at 39,806 vehicles, a growth of 9.7 per cent, fueled by cars like the Grand i10, Elite i20 and the Creta SUV.

With respect to exports, Hyundai India shipped 15,907 units in June 2016, a marginal growth of 0.9 per cent as against the 15,762 units exported in June 2016. The company is now betting on the recently announced 7th Pay Commission for central government employees and a good monsoon to build sales in the following months.

5) Honda

The BR-V has started off well for Honda

It was a disappointing month for Honda Cars India as June 2016 saw the car maker retail 11,407 domestic vehicles, a sharp decline of 38 per cent, as against the 18,380 vehicles sold during the corresponding period last year. The company's drop in volumes has been attributed to the customer's liking for petrol powered vehicles once again.

Explaining the decline in volumes, Yoichiro Ueno, President and CEO, Honda Cars India said, said "The shift in consumer preferences led to high stock of diesel vehicles at our dealerships. As a deliberate measure, we have been rationalising wholesale dispatches to correct the stock situation at our dealerships. The market is good and our retail sales were much higher than wholesale dispatches." Sales are expected to normalise in July with retail sales matching wholesale dispatches.

Honda also exported 393 units in June 2016, while cumulative sales for the first quarter of the financial year stood at 31,847, as against 44,447 vehicles sold during the same period last year. With respect to individual sales, Honda most popular model last month was the City sedan with 3581 units sold, followed by the newly launched BR-V that clocked 3064 units.

The Jazz was the third best-seller in Honda's lineup with 2593 cars sold, while the Amaze clocked 1617 units last month. The least selling Honda cars in June 2016 were the Brio, Mobilio and CR-V, clocking 359 units, 140 units and 53 units respectively.

6) Volkswagen

Volkswagen India clocked pretty steady sales in June this year registering sales of 4022 units as compared to 4039 units sold in the same month last year. The German auto giant stated that the steady sales performance came courtesy of special edition models like the Polo Select and Vento Celeste, apart from the contributions from the standard Polo, Vento, Jetta and Beetle. The company did not share its export details.

Volkswagen is now gearing up to commence deliveries of the recently launched Ameo sub-compact sedan from this month onwards. The Ameo was launched last month at a starting price of Rs. 5.24 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), but is currently available only with a petrol engine; whereas the diesel and DSG automatic versions are slated to be launched around the festive season. VW sales are expected to see a spike once the Ameo deliveries commence.