Auto Sales Continue to Cruise Ahead in February 2010

The automobile sales in India continued to cruise ahead in the month of February 2010, with some of the automobile manufacturers reporting record sales. This was mainly due to the widely anticipated move in the Indian Union Budget on February 26, 2010 as the government hiked vehicle excise duties. This hike was part of the rollback of stimulus aimed at shielding India's economy from the global financial crisis.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., India's biggest car maker, reported its highest-ever monthly sales in the country in the month of Feb,'10. It posted a 22% increase in total sales of 96,650 vehicles, eclipsing the previous high of 95,649 vehicles in January 2010. Moreover, its domestic sales also grew by 84,765 vehicles while exports surged 39 % to 11,885 vehicles.

Hyundai Motor India also proclaimed its highest domestic sales ever at 31,001 units, nearly an increase of 46.13%. Its total sales rose by 43 % at 54,617 units, with exports touching 23,616 units. The company was able to achieve these record figures due to the increase in the demand for the various car models like i10, i20 and the Santro.
Similarly, Tata Motors, India's biggest auto maker by revenue, reported a 58% rise. Its total sales in February, 2010 were 69,427 vehicles as compared to 43,811 vehicles sold in February, 2009.

Sales at General Motors India also doubled in February to 11,111 vehicles as compared to 4,921 vehicles in the same month last year. The company was able to achieve this high figures mainly because of higher sales of small car models like Chevrolet Beat and Spark. The company sold 4,431 units of the Beat and 3,412 units of the Spark in February 2010.

Luxury car manufacturing company Mercedes-Benz recorded a steep rise of 78 % in its sales for the month of February 2010 compared with the number of cars sold in the same month last year. The company sold 439 units in February, 2010, as compared with 246 units in February 2009.

Car Sales in the Month of February 2010

Automaker	Cars Sold (Feb, 2010)	Cars Sold (Feb, 2009)	Total Growth (In %)
Maruti Suzuki	70625 units	84765 units	20.02
Hyundai Motors	21215 units	31001 units	46.12
Tata Motors	43811 units	69427 units	58
General Motors	4921 units	11111 units	125.78
Mercedes	246 units	439 units	78