Thursday July 01, 2010

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By Sam Devraj  ( Assistant Editor )

Car rage: Maruti still registers top sales in the country

TOP CARMAKER Maruti Suzuki saw its sales jump by 17 per cent in June from a year earlier, underlining strong consumer demand and industrial growth in Asia’s third largest economy.

Japanese-owned Maruti Suzuki India sold a total of 88,091 vehicles in June, up from 85,109 in the same month a year ago.

The June number was down from the 28 per cent rise in sales to 102,175 units posted by Maruti in May, its highest ever leap. The company partly blamed a shutdown of its plants for maintenance for the slowdown.

The latest figures come as carmakers are hiking the price of their vehicles to compensate for the increased cost of raw materials such as steel and rubber.

The government also announced rises in the price of petrol and diesel last week.

Analysts see sales remaining strong as the economy picks up pace. It expanded by 8.6 per cent year-on-year in the most recent financial quarter and Indian banks are still lending readily.

Meanwhile, TVS Motor, the third-largest two-wheeler maker by sales, announced a 36-per cent year-on-year jump in June sales to 156,685 units.

Car sales in India tumbled in 2008, hit by higher loan costs and fears of job cuts amid the global financial crisis. But government stimulus steps and an economic turnaround led to a recovery in the sector in 2009.

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