Commercial vehicle sales worst hit in December

October 13th, 2009 Indian vehicle sales rise 17 percent in SeptemberMUMBAI, India — India's auto sales rose 17.1 percent in September from a year earlier to 212,975 vehicles, as holiday buying, easier credit and rising consumer confidence fueled growth in India's auto sector. Sales of passenger cars rose 20.6 percent, to 129,683 units, while the recovery in commercial vehicle sales gathered pace, with growth of 6.5 percent, to 45,451 units, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said This marks the eighth month of recovery for Indian car sales, which began to turn in February thanks to government stimulus measures and resilient domestic demand.

October 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Total automobile sales increased 14.51 percent between April and September this fiscal over that in the corresponding period last fiscal, as per data released by an industry body Tuesday. Sales of passenger vehicles grew 13.46 percent in the period under review, but that of commercial vehicles slid 0.52 percent, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

August 3rd, 2009 MUMBAI - July sales of auto major Tata Motors grew 18 percent to 48,054 vehicles as against 40,729 units sold in the year-ago period, the company said Monday. In a regulatory statement, it said domestic sales of both commercial and passenger vehicles grew 23 percent to 45,599 units as compared to the 37,033 units sold a year ago.

July 24th, 2009 Europe truck sales down for 14th monthBRUSSELS — European truck sales were down on the year for a fourteenth straight month in June, slumping 34.8 percent over 12 months, car makers' association ACEA said Friday. Sales of trucks, vans and buses failed to see the turnaround that the car market saw last month when sales rose for the first time in over a year thanks to government car scrappage programs.

June 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's passenger vehicle sales grew a marginal 1.68 percent in April-May to about 275,000 units from nearly 272,000 units sold in the corresponding period last year, according to an industry body. Sales, however, dropped to a little below 141,000 units in May from about 142,000 sold in the like month last year, figures released MOnday by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said.

May 11th, 2009 Indian vehicle sales up 1.1 percent in AprilMUMBAI, India — India's vehicle sales continued to rise in April, growing 1.1 percent from the year before to 165,539 units, while exports surged, according to industry figures released Monday. Sales of passenger cars rose 4.36 percent, to 135,697 units, while commercial vehicle sales fell 11.25 percent, to 29,842 units, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said.

April 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's auto industry, which was hit hard by the global financial crisis that started in mid-2008, ended last fiscal with a marginal 0.7 percent growth in sales, thanks to the government's stimulus measures. The auto makers sold 97,23,391 vehicles in 2008-09, up from 96,54,435 units the year before, data released Wednesday by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufactures (SIAM) said.

March 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Auto major Tata Motors Monday said its last month sales went down 19.1 percent to 43,807 vehicles as against 54,181 units in February 2008. The company said in a statement that its commercial vehicles sales went down 25 percent, while the passenger vehicles sales reported a marginal year-on-year growth of 1.5 percent.

February 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A day after the central government announced 2-percent excise duty cut, some of India's commercial vehicle manufacturers Wednesday slashed prices across their trucks and bus line-ups to pass on the benefit to consumers. 'We are passing on the full benefits of the excise duty reduction,' a spokesman for Ashok Leyland said, adding that this would 'bring prices down on average slightly more than Rs.16,000'.

January 15th, 2009 KOLKATA - Automobile sales are not picking up as commercial banks have not eased auto loan rates, a senior official of utility vehicle major Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) said here Friday. 'The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given a directive to banks to ease lending rates for automobile loans.

January 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Retail sales in the US plunged in December as holiday shoppers cut back on spending and ignored big sales incentives, the Commerce Department said in its initial estimate Wednesday. Sales tumbled to $343.2 billion, down 9.8 percent compared to December 2007 and down 2.7 percent from November, worse than economists expected.

January 6th, 2009 CHENNAI - Commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland Ltd Wednesday reported a 63 percent fall in its December sales over the corresponding month previous year. In a statement, the company said it sold 2,321 units last month as against 6,340 units a year ago.

January 1st, 2009 CHENNAI - The stimulus shot of 4 percent cut in excise duty will take some more time to rejuvenate the two-wheeler manufacturer. Even after offering discounts, major players have reported lower sales last month as compared to December 2007.

December 31st, 2008 NEW DELHI - Maruti Suzuki Ltd, the country's largest passenger carmaker, Thursday reported 10 percent dip in its December sales. The company sold 56,293 vehicles last month as against 62,515 units in December 2007, an official statement said.

December 31st, 2008 NEW DELHI - The government's move to reduce the Cenvat duty as part of the stimulus package announced early December does not seem to have brought cheers to the auto industry, with India's largest auto firm, Maruti Suzuki, registering a 10 percent negative growth in December. Data released by the company Thursday showed Maruti sold 56,293 vehicles last month, compared to 62,515 units sold in the same month in 2007.