Indian automobile industry continued to suffer a notable decline in sales in January as high fuel and interest costs discouraged consumers from buying new vehicles.

Maruti Suzuki, the largest passenger car manufacturer of India, suffered a year-on-year decline of 10.3 per cent in sales in January this year. The auto giant's domestic sale slipped 6.3 per cent year-on-year, from 103,026 units in January 2013 to 96,569 units during the month of this year. Exports slipped 47.7 per cent, from 11,179 units to 5,847 units.

Overall, the manufacturer had sold 114,205 units in January 2013.

Hyundai Motor's sales in January this year fell 12.7 per cent to 45,415 units, from 52,024 units in the corresponding period of the previous year. The Chennai-based automobile manufacturer's domestic sales fell 2.6 per cent to 33,405 units; while exports slipped 32.2 per cent to 12,010 units.

Toyota Kirloskar suffered a decline of 18.21 per cent in sales in the month under review. Its sales slipped from 13,329 units in January 2013 to 10,901 units in January this year. Mahindra & Mahindra's sales were down 11 per cent. The utility vehicle maker said in statement that its sales slipped from 49,503 units to 42,685 units.

However, the Indian arms of foreign luxury car makers Ford India and Honda enjoyed impressive rise in their respective sales in the month under review. While Ford India's sales jumped 49 per cent, from 7,115 units in January
2013 to 10,634 units in January 2014; Honda's sales grew 188 per cent from 5,451 units to 15,714 units.