With a new year comes new opportunities. For the Indian auto industry that comes in the form of new launches or the introduction of variants and refreshed models. The three homegrown manufacturers are making an early start in this regard with Maruti Suzuki introducing launching the 2019 WagonR and Tata Motors launching the all new Harrier on January 23, 2019. Mahindra XUV300 compact SUV will be launched in February.
An early start in successful segments is a key move as it gives manufacturers the opportunity to bring in dependable sales volumes over a larger number of months in a calendar year, and gets past the need to wait till the festive season to launch a new car to tap into positive buying sentiments.
For auto manufacturers in India, 2018 sales (domestic) has ended on a note of struggle for some. The top ten list has 6 gainers and 4 losers. In all there’s 8 entities that ended the year on a sales decline.
While Tata Motors sells a fraction of the number of cars Maruti sells, they find themselves at an enviable position at the top of the list at 26.3 percent sales growth. Ford Motors has grown 11.7 percent. Toyota lists growth at 8.5 percent, and the market leader by sales volume, Maruti Suzuki has reported 8 percent volume growth for 2018.
At fifth spot, Hyundai Motor India has reported its highest sales volume in a calendar year, and continues to sell the second highest number of cars in India. HMIL ended the year at 4.3 percent growth. Mahindra reported the least growth at 1.5 percent and finds itself sixth on the list. The company recently launched the Marazzo MPV and Alturas G4.
Despite strong sales volumes from Honda Amaze for a few consecutive months, Honda Cars India reports 2.3 percent sales decline for 2018. Datsun India reports sales volume drop of 12 percent despite launching 2018 Datsun Go, and Go Plus in Q4 2018.
In penultimate spot is Volkswagen at 22.9 percent sales decline. Renault India reported 28.3 percent decline and is working on the launch of its all new Renault RBC MPV.
