Price cuts boost car sales in February

Price cuts boost car sales in FebruaryIndia's leading car manufacturers Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) and Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) enjoyed considerable jumps in their sales in February, thanks to price cuts that followed excise duty cuts announced in the Interim Budget.

Maruti Suzuki, which had suffered a decline of 6.3 per cent in domestic sales in January, saw an increase of 1.8 per cent in sales to 99,758 units in February this year as against 97,955 units in February last year.

Sales of compact segment cars comprising Ritz, Swift and Estilo jumped 19.4 per cent year-on-year to 28,672 units in February this year. However, sales of utility vehicles like Ertiga, Gypsy and Grand Vitara, affected the company's performance by slipping 12.2 per cent to 5,231 units.

Hyundai's domestic sales remained almost unchanged at 34,005 units in February this from 34,002 units in February last year. But it represented a growth of 2 per cent from the previous month.

Rakesh Srivastava, senior vice president (sales & marketing) at Hyundai, said, "Post the reduction in excise duty, inquiry inflow has increased with February sales of 34,005 units a growth of 2 per cent over the earlier month and it is expected that this would lead towards creation of a positive momentum."

Maruti and Hyundai are not the only manufacturers that have enjoyed a growth in sales last month. The Indian arms of Ford and Honda also registered double digit growth during the month.