Hyundai reclaims 2nd spot in Indian market

Aided by lower interest rates on car loans, higher incomes, and a slew of launches in the small-car segment, automobile manufacturers have posted good sales figures in July. While the country’s largest auto maker, Maruti Suzuki, posted a 29.18 per cent increase in sales at 1,00,857 vehicles last month as against 78,074 for July last year, Hyundai Motor has managed to wrest the position of second biggest carmaker from Tata Motors only a month after losing the spot to the rival.

As per figures released by the two companies, while Tata Motors sold 27,864 units last month, Hyundai clocked total sales of 28,811 units in the domestic market. However, while Hyundai’s domestic sales increased by only 24.22 per cent in the month under review, that of Tata Motors rose by 62.08 per cent — boosted by good Nano sales of 9,000 units.

Maruti Suzuki said in a statement, “This is the second time in this fiscal that the company's monthly sales figure has crossed 1 lakh mark. Domestic sales in July are also the highest ever domestic sales in a month.” The company also reported a 1.9 per cent rise in exports, which stood at 10,743 units. Maruti Suzuki’s sales volume in the domestic market grew by 33.4 per cent.