Sales of some of the leading car companies are back

In the gloom of the pandemic for many and the economic hardship for many more comes some good news from the automotive industry. The sales of some of the leading car companies are back to the previous year’s level. Infact some car companies like Renault, Tata Motors and MG have shown growth while the big two, Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor along with Kia Motors are back around the July 2019 sales marks. However, Nissan, Mahindra, Toyota, Ford and Honda are still struggling. The figures also prove that premium cars aside, the trend is towards small and new cars. Hatchbacks in the Maruti Suzuki portfolio are up, at times up by 50 per cent as in the case of the Ignis while sedan sales are down with the bestselling Dzire down by 30 per cent Y-O-Y. SUVs are down as well except if they are new as in the case of the Hyundai Creta that has bolstered Hyundai’s overall numbers. Things are not normal in the automotive market yet but there is some semblance of a recovery and that is heartening even as the Covid-19 numbers in our country continue to rise. Good news is also coming from Indian tyre manufacturers with JK Tyres announcing record aftermarket sales in the previous month, due to perhaps the upcoming monsoons and more people needing to use their cars.

The second SUV from Kia Motors India has finally been revealed, making its global debut here in India, just like the Seltos did. It is even more impressive than its bigger sibling, both in terms of its design and features. We were one of the first few to see it in flesh and we have all the details. We have been driving a wide variety of new and refreshed cars this past month including two big SUVs from Mercedes and the performance flagship from BMW as well as a Skoda and a Volkswagen. Some new bikes as well including the hugely impressive Hero Xtreme and the Bajaj Dominar. And finally we pit the new Honda City against the Hyundai Verna in a bid to decide the best C-segment sedan in the country and it turns out to be a very close encounter.

So till next month, stay safe and drive safe and ride safe and we will be back with our 5th Anniversary issue.