Discount Spree: Auto Makers offer Big Discounts to Push Sales
Discount Spree: Auto Makers offer Big Discounts to Push SalesReuters

Domestic car sales in India surged 14.76 percent for the month of June, said Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Wednesday.

Automakers sold 60,232 units of cars in India last month, up 14.76 percent from 1,39,624 units in June 2013, according to SIAM data. The sales of motorcycles rose 9.63 percent to 8,76,196 units from 7,99,254 units last year, while the commercial vehicles posted a decline of 9.03 percent to 51,119 units June.

In May, the total sales of commercial vehicles were down by 15.28 percent to 46,986 units as against 55,458 units a year-ago.

"Factors like speculative sales and positive sentiments created by formation of stable government and extension of excise duty reduction have helped the passenger car sales post double digit growth in June after ten months," Firstpost quoted SIAM President Vikram Kirloskar.

The price cut and the extension of excise duty reduction have helped the auto makers in increasing the sales during the last month. In India, currently, the excise duty of small cars, motorcycles, scooters and commercial vehicles have been cut down to 8 percent from 12 percent, while the excise duty of Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) has gone down to 24 percent from 30 percent.

In June, Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest car maker posted a growth of 33 percent in its sales. The total vehicle sales for the month of June stood at 1,12,773 units as against 84,455 units in the corresponding month last year. The domestic sales of the company rose to 1,00,964 units last month from 77,002 units in June 2013; registering an increase of 31.1 percent. The export of the company also saw a growth of 58.4 percent to 11,809 units in June 2014, against 7,453 units in the same period last year.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) also posted a growth of 8.76 percent at 33,258 units compared to 30,577 units in June last year.

Ford India recorded an increase of 36 percent in its sales for the month of June. The company sold 11,935 units as against 8,771 units in the corresponding month last year. The domestic sales of the company are up 1.58 percent at 7,258 units, over the same year-ago period. In the same period, the company exported 7,258 units.