UVs, vans drive up April passenger vehicle sales

Passenger vehicle (PV) sales in India rose by 7.5 per cent in April, driven by robust sales of utility vehicles, cars and vans.

According to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), PV sales last month stood at 2,98,504 units, up 7.5 per cent from 2,77,683 units in April 2017.

Domestic car sales were up 4.89 per cent to 2,00,183 units as against 1,90,854 units in the same month last year.

Utility vehicle (UV) sales rose 11.92 per cent to 79,136 units while van sales jumped 18.99 per cent t0 19,185 units during the month.

"We have started the current financial year on a positive note. We expect the industry to carry on the momentum during the rest of the year as well," SIAM Deputy Director General Sugato Sen said.

He said all segments in the PV vertical — cars, utility vehicles and vans — contributed to the sales growth last month. However, exports of PVs were down 15.89 per cent at 50,921 units in April as against 60,538 units in same month last year.

In April, market leader Maruti Suzuki India posted a growth of 13.43 per cent in its domestic PV sales at 1,63,434 units. Rival Hyundai Motor India saw a growth of 4.42 per cent at 46,735 units.

Homegrown Mahindra & Mahindra registered a growth of 12.94 per cent at 21,826 units, while Tata Motors saw its PV sales jump 36.19 per cent to 19,157 units.

According to SIAM, total two-wheeler sales in April rose 16.92 per cent to 19,58,241 units compared to 16,74,787 units in the yearago month. "Motorcycle sales have bounced back and we expect the trend to continue," Sen said.

Motorcycle sales last month rose 19.38 per cent to 12,29,526 units as against 10,29,963 units a year earlier.

Market leader Hero MotoCorp posted a rise of 16.44 per cent in its domestic motorcycle sales at 6,07,720 units as against 5,21,909 units in the year-ago month. Rival Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) sold 2,12,292 units as compared to 1,83,182 units in the same month last year, a growth of 15.89 per cent. Bajaj Auto's motorcycle sales stood at 2,00,742 units as compared to 1,61,930 units in April 2017.