AUTOMOBILES
Friday, April 16, 2004
Motown makes the mark, sales touch 1 mn
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
NEW DELHI: Armed with its first million score, Motown took a victory lap today, replicating our cricketers at Pindi. Passenger vehicle sales, including exports, crossed the magic million mark for the first time ever in a fiscal year, at 1,030,068 units in '03-04. Compared with last year 's tally of 779,203 units, sales were up 32.2%, according to the figures released by SIAM. On April 9, ET had reported that India's passenger vehicle sales have crossed the million milestone.
In FY04, the industry also clocked another first - netting $1bn in exports, which grew 56% over the year.
Although the calendar '03 tally places India at 12th in the global pecking order, it is the second fastest growing market in the million club after China. According to the world motor vehicle production survey by OICA correspondents, while India's 32% growth in car sales is still less than half of China's 83% (2m units), it's much higher than South Korea's 4% (2.7m units), Russia's 3% (over 1m), or UK's 2% (1.6m). And these are the only million-clubbers with positive growth. Others like the US (4.5m units), Japan (8.4m), France (3.2m), Germany (5.1m), Italy (1m), Canada (1.3m) and Brazil (1.5m) are all seeing negative growth now.
Here's how the pie is sliced out back home. Of the total 1.03m units, domestic sales accounted for 900,752 units, compared with 707,198 units last fiscal, up 27.4%. Passenger vehicle exports jumped 79.6% at 129,316 units compared with 72,005 units in the previous year. Of this, passenger car exports made up for the lion's share, at 125,327 units, rising 78.3% year on year. While export of utility vehicles, at 3,067 units was up 160.6% more, that of multi-purpose vehicles, at 922 units, was up 63%.
Domestic sales of passenger cars, at 696,207 units, were up 28.5%. Of this, sales of B-segment compact cars were up 23.4% at 369,537 units, accounting for the largest chunk. The A-segment mini, at 167,565 units (up 17%), and the C-segment mid-size, at 139,304 units (up nearly 51%), were the other significant sellers. Though the biggest growth came in the executive lower D segment, which jumped 553% to 14,337 units. Domestic utility vehicle sales grew 27.6% at 144,981 units, while MPVs sold 14.4% more at 59,564 units.
Of course, passenger vehicles weren't the only ones having a ball in FY04. Commercial vehicle sales, at 277,572 units were up nearly 37% over the 202,937 units clocked last year. Of this domestic sales was up 36.5% at 260,345 units over 190,682 units sold in the previous fiscal. Exports, at 17,227 units, were up 40.5%, compared with the 12,255 units notched up last year.
The two-wheeler industry, too, pitched in with a fine show clocking 5.6m units in total sales in '03-04 (up nearly 13%). While domestic sales were up 11.4% at 5.3m units, exports grew 47% at 264,669 units over the 179,682 units shipped out last year.
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