Drive

Car sales hit speed breaker

September failed to revive sentiments in Motown, with the car industry still stuck in first gear, though two-wheelers have their growth engine revving.

If only just The liquidity crunch and the September Shraadh season have hit sales across segments. Maruti Suzuki posted a marginal 2.53% increase in sales to 64,682 units, compared with 63,086 in September last year.

It took a hit on sales due to de-growth in its largest A2 segment, comprising Zen Estilo, Swift, WagonR and Alto, which declined 1.29% to 45,621 from 46,216 a year ago. The sharpest dip in sales was recorded by Maruti 800, which fell 33.6% to 3,467 units.

Hyundai Motor India continued its smooth run, posting a 23.89% jump in sales at to 22,311 units this September as against 18,009 last year. Its new small car i10 continued to generate strong demand both in the domestic and overseas markets.

"Export for the month is the highest due to demand for i10 from many overseas markets," senior V-P (marketing & sales) Arvind Saxena said. India's third largest carmaker Tata Motors saw its sales dipping nearly 9% to 16,586 units in September against 18,216 last year. The main hit came from the 24% decline in sales of Indica hatchback to 8,598 units, while sales of Sumo and Safari remained flat at 3,321. The sales of Indigo sedan, rose 100.5% to 4,667 units.

Mahindra & Mahindra reported a 31.67% jump in sales at 24,481 units this September, compared with 18,593 last year.

The sales of its utility vehicle range increased, while Logan sales dipped 19.78% to 1,752 last month against 2,184 in September 2007. American major General Motors saw its sales dipping 10.38% to 5,154 in September, from 5,751 last year. Premium car maker Honda Siel Cars sales dropped 45.29% to 3,104 in September as against 5,674 last year.

Luxury carmaker Skoda Auto India reported a 34.78% increase in sales to 1,213 in September 2008 compared with 900 in the same period last year.

The largest two-wheeler maker Hero Honda reported a 22.47% jump in sales in September to 3.85 lakh as against 3.14 lakh last year. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter posted a 17% increase in sales to 94,181 against 80,171 last year. Bajaj Auto reported a 6% rise in sales to 2.18 lakh against 2.06 lakh a year-ago. TVS Motors posted a jump of 19.25% in sales during September to 1.37 lakh.

Auto industry sources say that a large portion of the modest overall growth in car sales has been due to billing. Retail response continues to be extremely sluggish and carmakers are simply piling stock at the dealer end in the hope that the Dusherra-Diwali combo in October will take care of it.

The Economic Times

Suzuki CEO won't rest despite company's growth

With the Big Three U.S. automakers struggling as consumers shun their gas-guzzling vehicles, Suzuki Motor Corp looks in an enviable position with its line-up of tiny, fuel-saving cars.

That, and its mile-long lead in the nascent Indian market, have catapulted the once stolid car maker to No. 10 in the world measured by number of cars sold in the first half of this year, and lifted its profits steadily for nearly a decade.

But if you ask Osamu Suzuki, the 78-year-old chief executive who has held the post for the last 30 years, it's against all the odds that the company, founded by his wife's grandfather, has made it this far. "When I reflect on what the industry looked like back in 1978, it was the Golden Age for the Big Three," said Suzuki, who joined the company in 1958.

"And every 10 years or so, there's been a big change - whether it's trade liberalisation or the introduction of emissions standards - and each time, competition got tougher. It still amazes me that we even survived these 50 years." It's tempting to dismiss Suzuki's comments as good-natured if somewhat false modesty but engage him in conversation, and the sense of crisis is palpable.

"If, on top of the volumes, we had our own hybrid, our own fuel-cell technology, our own diesel, CNG and ethanol cars, then yes, we would be a 'top' company," he told Reuters.

"But we aren't doing any of that. We don't even know how to spell hybrid. Right now, we're just trying to keep up - not even catch up - with the crowd."

Suzuki says it must be open to any future, including the possibility of being taken over, to ensure its survival. "If it were the best option for Suzuki, I would sell a 51 percent stake in a heartbeat, to GM or whomever. We simply are in no position to be selective."

It's a strong statement for someone who is widely accepted as the architect of present-day Suzuki Motor.

His thrifty ways have earned him and the company a reputation of master penny-pincher - an art in an industry of low margins. In the 1970s, Suzuki saved the little-known car maker from the brink by convincing Toyota Motor to supply engines that cleared new emissions regulations that Suzuki didn't have.

Reuters
 

 Think about Bengal and India, solve Singur row: PM

With the row over Tata's Nano car project in Singur eluding a solution, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday that it is in the interest of West Bengal and India that the issue is resolved "satisfactorily."

The prime minister also said he did not want to apportion blame but sincerely believed that even now it is "not too late" to find a negotiated settlement which would meet the concerns of those farmers who are agitating as well as the concerns of the investors, the Tatas.

The Tatas, West Bengal Government and the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress are locked in a dispute over farmland acqusition that has led the industry group to consider moving out of the state. Work remains suspended at the Singur for nearly a month. Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata is due to hold talks with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in Kolkata on October three to discuss the company's Nano car project which has run into strong resistance from Trinamool Congress over farmland acquisition issue.

Indian Express
 

Sri Lanka Insurance partners with the ACDSOA

Sri Lanka Insurance, has tied up with the All Ceylon Drivers School Owners Association (ACDSOA) to provide training and workshops for all its member driving schools of the importance of driver and passenger safety and the importance of repairing a vehicle to manufacturer's specifications after a collision. The workshops will be carried out at the Formula World Seeduwa.

The All Ceylon Drivers School Owners Association was established in 1961 directly under the supervision of the Labour Ministry and work closely within the purview of Ministry of Transport.

The Asociation has a member school base of over 500 spanning all regions of the country excluding the North and some parts of the East and is a major stakeholder in most of the important decisions in motor traffic education. Apart from conducting training and workshops for the member organisations the association takes upon itself the responsibility of educating the members well in advance of all the new rules and regulations to be imposed by the Motor Traffic Department and also provides assistance obtaining various vehicle licences and the other documentation pertaining to motor traffic.

As Paris Motor Show opens industry faces sluggish demand

Auto makers are gearing up to show their latest models at the Paris Motor Show this week against an industry backdrop of sluggish demand for new cars and growing fears over a prolonged global economic downturn.

A new range of small and fuel-efficient city cars such as the Toyota iQ and Ford Ka as well as several hybrid models are expected to take center stage at the biannual show that begins Saturday, but may do little to distract from the industry's woes.

Earlier this month, Citigroup cut its global auto forecasts for 2008 and 2009 and now expects this year to be the first year of negative growth in the car market since 2001.

In the U.S., the largest automotive market by sales, industry sales are on track to fall to a 15-year low of about 14.1 million to 14.3 million new cars and trucks.

"We don't want to be too gloomy, but mature markets plunged over the summer and even emerging markets failed to provide as strong a spur to global growth as in prior periods," Citigroup analyst John Lawson said.

"We see August as a likely bottom, but remain cautious on the volume outlook." Following some profit warnings and sales-target revisions during second-quarter earnings, several auto makers, including Daimler AG and BMW AG, have announced plans to cut production this year to avoid building up inventories.

Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC have already slashed production in the U.S. while attempting to boost output in Europe and other markets.

But it remains to be seen whether demand for cars will pick up next year. Investors will monitor closely any comments from executives in Paris that hint at the outlook for 2009.