MARUTI SALES SOAR 33%

NEW DELHI: Lower excise duties and the promise of better times ahead propelled car sales as most major manufacturers including Maruti, Hyundai and Honda, posted robust sales in June over the same month last year.

Market leader Maruti Suzuki saw its sales grow 31% to 100,964 units — highest growth in a month since August last year. The company said a general improvement in the sentiment on overall economy has resulted in a 13% sales growth in urban areas and a 34% in rural areas.

“We have witnessed growth in all segments, which is not very common,” said Mayank Pareek, senior executive officer, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. “Alto has sold over 30,000 units and Wagon R over 17,000 units — highest level ever in a month. We are starting the new month with over 30,000 bookings, which is very healthy.”

Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers would release the overall compiled figures next week but with six out of nine top manufacturers reporting rise sales on Tuesday, there is reason to believe that the growth would be in double digits.

The government had reduced excise duties on small cars, sedans, SUVs and two-wheelers between 4-6% during the interim budget in February and extended the same rates till December 2014.

“With the extension of excise duty, we hope to maintain growth in volume while strengthening our product portfolio,” said Rakesh Srivastava, V-P, Hyundai.