GST ROLL-OUT PUTS JULY CAR SALES IN TOP GEAR
Full throttle: Car sales surge 15% in race to pass on GST sops
Domestic sales of passenger vehicles (cars, vans and utility vehicles) expanded at more than 15 per cent in July — the highest pace in the first seven months of this calendar year. This growth, however, comes after a double-digit decline of 11 per cent in June, when companies regulated sales to reduce dealers’ loss on pre-goods and services tax (GST) inventory. Six leading companies, including Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Honda and Toyota, recorded high double-digit growth, as they replenished the inventory at dealerships.
The country’s biggest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, has sold a record monthly volume of 153,298 vehicles in the domestic market during July, growing 22 per cent over last year. Maruti, the country’s most valued automobile company, made a new record at the bourses, with its stock hitting a fresh high of Rs 7,920 in Tuesday’s trade. It closed at Rs 7,859, up almost 2 per cent from the previous day. All vehicle segments, except vans, recorded double-digit growth for the company.
The industry is unlikely to sustain this high growth in August. This is because retail sales have not been strong in July.
Buyers advanced purchases in June to take advantage of the deep discounts and offers rolled out by companies and dealers to clear pre-GST inventory.
R S Kalsi, executive director (marketing & sales) at Maruti Suzuki, said recently that the performance of June and July should not be seen in isolation. Korean carmaker Hyundai, the second biggest player, reported a growth of about 4 per cent in July to sell 43,007 units. The lowering of prices on account of GST implementation and good monsoon will increase customer confidence and sentiment towards vehicle buying, said Rakesh Srivastava, director (sales & marketing), Hyundai.
Courtesy: See More @ http://bit.ly/2hlSSzP
No comments:
Post a Comment