Auto sales in August 2010 continue to grow on new launches, easy loans

Passenger car sales in India continued to grow at double-digit rates in August 2010 owing to easy availability of finance and several new model and variant launches. Market leader Maruti Suzuki reported its highest ever monthly sales at 1.04 lakh units, up from 84,808 units in August 2009. The company’s domestic sales in August 2010 stood at 92,674 units, due largely to the launch of the Alto K10 and 5 new CNG variants. Tata Motors and Hyundai India, too, grew by 45.1 percent and 17.2 percent respectively. HMIL’s exports, however, fell by 12 percent. Japanese company Nissan’s domestic sales grew from 22 units in August 2009 to 1,249 units in August 2010 – thanks to the popularity of its new compact car, the Micra. Mahindra & Mahindra’s passenger UV sales in the domestic market went up from 11443 units in August 2009 to 12994 units in August 2010 – an increase of 14 percent. Sales of the Logan, too, grew by 71 percent in the same period.