Car sales growth in the domestic market continued to slow down, with the top three companies -
Maruti Suzuki , Hyundai and
Tata Motors - reporting declining numbers in July compared to the same month last year.
On the other hand, other companies, including General Motors India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Ford India and Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M), posted sales growth during the month.
Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) posted 26.20 per cent decrease in sales in July this year, while Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) witnessed 11 per cent dip in domestic sales. Tata Motors saw a fall of 38.30 per cent during the month.
MSI said it sold 66,504 units in the domestic market last month as against 90,114 units in July, 2010. The company said sluggish market condition and non-production of hatchback Swift as it prepares to launch a new version of the car soon resulted in declining sales.
HMIL's sales in domestic market, stood at 25,642 units as compared to 28,811 units in same month last year.
"The July 2011, sales for both the industry and as well as Hyundai Motor India Ltd had been negative. Though the customer enquiries have increased, due to the increase in fuel price and interest rates, conversion rate has slowed down," HMIL Director (Marketing and Sales) Arvind Saxena said.
Tata Motors said its domestic total passenger vehicles sales stood at 17,192 units in July, as against 27,865 units in the same month last year. The company's latest offering Nano's sales stood at 3,260 units during the month, down 64 per cent.
After clocking nearly 30 per cent increase in sales last fiscal, the domestic car sales have slowed down to 27 months low at 1.62 per cent in June as rising interest rates and high fuel prices affected consumer sentiments.
Yet, General Motors India said its July sales jumped 33.46 per cent jump to 9,508 units as compared to 7,124 units in the same month last year.
Similarly, Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported a 98.89 per cent jump in its sales in July at 13,592 units. The company had sold 6,834 units in the corresponding month last year.
M&M said it registered a rise of 41.90 per cent in domestic sales at 37,323 units during the month compared to 26,303 units in the year-ago period.
Ford India also reported a 10.76 per cent jump in its sales for July 2011, at 10,706 units as against 9,666 units in the same month last year.
Honda Siel Cars India also reported a marginal increase in its sales in July this year at 4,725 units as against 4,685 units in the same month last year. Nissan Motor India Pvt Ltd (NMIPL) said its July sales grew 58.50 per cent to 1,593 units as against 1,005 units in the same month last year.
Special 
