India’s autoville suffered a heavy blow in terms of November sales as the country’s top car makers like Maruti, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Toyota and Ford all saw degrowth in sales. However, bucking the trend, Mahindra and Honda saw double-digit sales growth.
The country’s largest passenger car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), registered 0.7 percent decline in its November 2018 sales on the back of weak exports.
The company sold a total of 153,539 units in November 2018 against sales of 154,600 units in November 2017. The total sales includes 146,018 units in the domestic market and 7,521 units of exports. Its domestic sales were up by 0.5 percent year-on-year, while exports fell 19.1 percent to 7521 units.
Total domestic passenger vehicle sales were down 0.3 percent at 143,890, while light commercial vehicles sales increased by 112.2 percent at 2,128 units.
Sales of Maruti Suzuki’s entry-level segment, which includes the Alto range and WagonR, went down by a massive 21.6 percent, while sales in the compact car segment, which includes the likes of the Swift, Dzire and Baleno, went up by a considerable 10.8 percent. This could be an indication that Maruti customers, who previously chose the cars like the Alto and WagonR are now opting for cars in the higher segment.
However, this was not the case with the company’s mid-size sedan Ciaz, which despite receiving a facelift a few months ago, continues to see a decline in monthly sales. The company sold only 3,838 units of the Ciaz last month, compared to 4,009 units sold in November 2017, registering a drop of 4.3 percent.
The company’s utility vehicle space, which includes the likes of the Vitara Brezza, Ertiga, S-Cross and Gypsy, saw a decent 1.2 percent growth in November 2018, while sales of the company’s vans, which include the Omni and Eeco, also grew by 3.6 percent. In retrospect, Maruti Suzuki India’s light commercial vehicle Super Carry saw a massive triple-digit growth of 112.2 percent with 2,128 units, compared to 1,003 units.
This story is from the December 2018 edition of Steel Insights.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 2018 edition of Steel Insights.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Steel's Net Zero mission
The country’s commitment to achieving Net Zero within a targeted timeframe will now propel its steel sector towards a sustainable future in line with global trends.
Fuel Price Hike, Supply Chain Disruption Hurt Festive Sales
Supply chain disruptions and fuel price hikes have hurt festive sales in a big way as most auto majors posted decline in sales in October.
Seaborne coking coal offers remain range-bound
Seaborne coking coal offers moved in a narrow range in October amid global supply tightness and healthy spot demand.
Global crude steel output down 8% in September
China manufactured 74 mt in September, fall of 21% y-o-y while India’s production went up by 7% to 10 mt.
MOIL embarks on expansion projects
“Even though our country is blessed with manganese ore reserves, we import 50% of the domestic requirement. We have to lower our import dependence and save precious foreign exchange.” Ram Chandra Prasad Singh, Steel Minister
Iron ore handled by major ports down 17% in H1
The 12 major Indian ports handled 27 mt of iron-ore during H1 of 2021, down by 17% from 33 mt recorded for the corresponding period of previous year.
Shrinking China output to boost India exports
“In the third quarter of 2021, the company actively responded to the pressure from external policies, such as production curtailment and dual control system on energy consumption and intensity, as well as coal resource shortage and surging prices.” Baoshan Iron and Steel Co Ltd
Indian Railways' iron-ore handling up 25% in H1
Indian Railways in April-September of 2021 (H1) transported 84 mt of iron ore, up by 25% over 67 mt during April-September 2020.
September crude steel production up 7.2% y-o-y
India’s crude steel production in September 2021 grew 7.2 percent to 9.547 million tons (mt) over September 2020 but was down by 3.2 percent from August 2021 output, provisional steel ministry data showed.
“Five enablers: way forward to sustainable cleaner steel”
Right and scalable technology, appropriate policy guidance by government, access to finance to fund transition, willingness of customers to pay for cleaner products and infrastructure for use of new technologies are the need of the hour for the sustainable and cleaner steel industry, according to Madhulika Sharma, Chief Corporate Sustainability, Tata Steel.
