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Auto sales jump in August ahead of festive season

Renault Samsung said its exports surged 38.4 percent on-year to 4,502 cars, with GM Korea reporting a 5 percent gain to 23,198 vehicles.

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In August, 5,850 units of the Spark were sold here, marking the seventh consecutive month of more than 5,000 units in sales.

In August, M&M sold 40,591 vehicles, including passenger and commercial vehicles and three-wheelers.

Kia Motors said on September 1 that its global sales spiked 12.2 percent from a year earlier in August.

Hyundai posted a 17.6 percent on-year plunge to 42,112 cars in domestic sales, while Kia followed suit with a 10.4 percent cut to 37,403 units.

For the first eight months of the year, the company sold 389,460 cars globally, down 3.4 percent from the same period last year.

Honda Cars Ltd was the only firm which saw its sales fall, by 11%, amid strong competition from rival brands.

However, Maruti Suzuki saw negative growth in its mini segment (Alto, WagonR) and super compact segment (Dzire Tour) in August as compared to sales logged in August 2015.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India sold a total of 492,416 units in August over 395,196 unit sales in August 2015. The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), an industry body, on 11 August said that it is likely to revise upwards its earlier forecast of 6-8% growth for the year.

Sales at utility-vehicle market leader Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd jumped 29% to 18,246 units.

In the two-wheeler segment, the country’s top two manufactures reported more than 25 percent growth each.

South Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor Co. saw its August shipment drop 3.1 percent on year to 358,447 units, hurt by union strike and end in sales tax deduction on auto purchases.

“The improved spread of monsoon as well as new product launches have helped the auto industry perform positively”, said Pravin Shah, the chief executive of Mahindra’s automotive business. The company launched the a new generation Elantra last month and hopes to ride on the festive spirit to push its sales. Coupled with this, the uncertainty surrounding diesel vehicles has been lifted by the Supreme Court giving the customer the choice to buy his preferred vehicle which will help improve sentiments going forward.

Commenting on the monthly sales, N Raja, director and senior vice-president (Sales & Marketing), Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said: “We launched the Innova Crysta petrol last month and have received a very good response from the market”.

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The Kwid continued to drive Renault India Pvt. Ltd and 111% at Nissan Motor India Pvt. Ltd. The carmaker has reported domestic sales of 5,918 vehicles in August 2016, up 110% year on year (August 2015: 2,809). The company exported 1,244 units of the Etios series in August compared to 1,386 units in August 2015.

Surging sales in August bring cheer to Indian carmakers