ZOOMING AHEAD

New Delhi, Nov. 8: Festive season purchases helped car sales to recover in October and register a growth of 14.6 per cent. Motorcycle sales, however, continued to be in the negative, suffering a decline of 6.74 per cent.

Total vehicle sales in October stood at 10,10,963 units against 10,17,611 units in the same month last year.

The festive season, when Indians traditionally make big-ticket purchases, helped car companies boost sales despite high interest rates.

According to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), passenger car sales in October were 1,05,878 units compared with 92,389 units in the corresponding period last year, a growth of 14.60 per cent.

Market leader Maruti Suzuki posted a double-digit growth of 16.12 per cent, selling 55,731 units in October against 47,994 units in the same month in 2006.

General Motors also posted close to a four-fold jump in sales at 4,370 units against 1,142 units in the corresponding previous period.

Tata Motors also registered 10.14 per cent growth at 14,011 units compared with 12,720 units in the same month a year ago.

Hyundai Motor India, however, suffered a marginal decline at 18,197 units against 18,563 units last year.

Motorcycle sales were in the red, declining 6.74 per cent to 6,57,874 units against 7,05,467 units in the corresponding previous period.

Market leader Hero Honda marginally increased sales during October to 3,47,216 units compared with 3,45,319 units last year.

Bajaj Auto’s sales dropped 8.33 per cent to 2,05,004 units from 2,23,642 in October last year.

Sales of TVS Motors, India’s third largest two-wheeler maker, dropped 32.64 per cent to 58,594 units from 86,990 last year.

Total two-wheeler sales in October were down 3.73 per cent to 7,93,420 units compared with 8,24,182 units a year ago. Scooters posted a healthy 16.61 per cent growth at 98,752 units against 84,680 last year.

Honda Motorcycles and Scooter India (HMSI) sold 53,109 scooters in October against 43,957 in the corresponding month a year ago, up 20.82 per cent.

Three-wheeler sales during the month were down marginally to 35,394 units from 35,773 last year.

Sales of commercial vehicles in October increased 12.03 per cent to 43,645 units against 38,955 in October 2006.