Economictimes
Auto sales cross record 11 lakh units in January
The Indian auto industry today reported the highest ever sales in a single month at over 11 lakh units in January.
According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the total sales in domestic market stood at 11,14,157 units, against 7,68,698 units in the year-ago period, a jump of 44.94 per cent.
"This is the highest ever sales by the auto industry ... economic growth, reduced interest rates and better money supply has helped the industry in posting such growth," SIAM Director General Dilip Chenoy told reporters here.
The earlier highest sales by the industry was in October, 2006, at 10,17,198 units.
Economictimes
Excise worries put Feb car sales in top gear
Consumer mindset had transformed in the past two decades of economic reform, from stocking up to avoid higher prices, to deferring purchases in February hoping for lower prices in March. That is showing signs of reversal, at least for this year. They are lining up to beat a likely 4 percentage point raise in excise duty on cars. Sale of
Maruti Swift, Honda City, Fiat’s Grande Punto![[thumbsup]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Thumbs%20Up.png "Thumbs Up [thumbsup]")
, and Toyota Innova are brisk in an otherwise slow month.
“We see a lot of advancing of purchases this month, both among individuals and corporates,” said Mohan Mariwala, who runs Honda and Mercedes dealerships.
“This time, customers fear that the excise duties will go up leading to price hikes,” he said. Companies and consumers, when they buy in March, benefit from lower prices and depreciation benefits after tax rates are cut on the customary February 28 Budget. This is unlike the 70s and 80s when people used to hoard before the budget fearing higher tax rates when then the nation was still in the grips of Nehruvian socialism where taxes were raised year-after-year.
