India car sales analysed: April 2019

The financial year 2019-20 has kicked off on a sluggish note with all major car manufacturers witnessing a drop in sales in April 2019. Car sales are usually slump in April due to revision in prices and lack of deals and discounts. A steep drop in car sales can be seen across all car segments. However, the premium sedan segment has witnessed a 19 per cent growth, primarily due to the launch of the new Honda Civic. The compact SUV segment also holds its head high with a five per cent growth due to positive sales from the Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza and the Mahindra XUV300. 

In terms of Year-on-Year (YoY) sales, Honda India takes a lead with 23 per cent growth in April 2019 with 11,272 cumulative units sold as against 9,143 units sold in April 2018. The recently launched Amaze and the Civic have been the strongest selling products for Honda in the last month. On the other hand, Honda India has witnessed a 34 per cent drop in Month-on-Month (MoM) sales with 11,272 cumulative units sold in April 2019 as against 17,202 units sold in March 2019. Apart from Honda, YoY and MoM sales for all car manufacturers in India has been in the negative marking. 

Looking at segment-wise sales data, Maruti Suzuki Alto has witnessed a seven per cent growth in sales with 22,766 units sold in April 2019 as against 21,233 units sold in April 2018. In the compact hatchback segment, Toyota Liva has witnessed a marginal one per cent growth along with the all-new Hyundai Santro which has sold 6,906 units in April 2019. The compact sedan segment is on the lead owing to the new Honda Amaze which has sold 5,774 units in April 2019, and the Ford Aspire with 979 units sold in April 2019 as against 918 units sold in the same period last year, thereby posting a seven per cent growth. Speaking of the premium sedan segment, the newly launched Honda Civic takes a lead with 369 units sold in April 2019. 

Overall, the positive growth in sales in the compact SUV segment also indicates the change in consumer buying behaviour. With a spate of new car launches, particularly in the compact SUV segment, big cars are likely to be on the forefront in the future in terms of sales.