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Mercedes India vrooms ahead in 2014 with record sales

German luxury car maker Mercedes- Benz on Friday reported 13 per cent increase in annual sales in India in 2014 at 10,201 units, driven by new launches and network expansion. It had sold a total of 9,003 units in 2013, Mercedes-Benz said.

Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director & CEO Eberhard Kern said that last year the company has recorded the highest ever sales in the history of Mercedes- Benz in India till date.

"We are satisfied that our customer oriented efforts have paid off well. With this second consecutive successful year, we are now more confident and focused on continuing our growth momentum in India, which we achieved amidst increasingly challenging market conditions," he added. Kern said the company witnessed strong demand for its products last year. "In 2014 we witnessed a strong demand growth for our products, leading to long wait-list on some of the key products, which eventually limited our total sales numbers," he added.

He further said: "Our aggressive product strategy saw 10 new launches, coupled with our strategic network expansion strategy which witnessed a record 14 new outlets inaugurated."

Tata Motors’ sales zoom 10% in December
Tata Motors on Friday reported 10 per cent increase in total sales at 41,734 units in December, as against 37,836 units in the same month last year. Domestic sales of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles grew by 8 per cent at 37,776 units as compared to 35,010 units in December 2013, Tata Motors said in a statement. Sales of passenger vehicles in the domestic market in December stood at 12,040 units, up 30 per cent from 9,272 units in December 2013.

In the commercial vehicles segment, domestic sales remained flat at 25,736 units during the month, the company said.

Exports during the month as stood at 3,958 units as against 2,826 units in the year-ago month, up 40 per cent.

M&M Dec sales skid 8%

Auto major Mahindra & Mahindra reported 8 per cent decline in total sales at 36,328 units in December.

It had sold 39,611 units in the same month previous year, the company said in a statement. M&M's domestic sales declined by 7 per cent to 34,460 units last month as against 36,881 units a year earlier. Sales of passenger vehicles including Scorpio, XUV 500, Xylo, Bolero and Verito stood at 17,311 units, compared to 16,436 units in December 2013, up 5 per cent. Four-wheel commercial vehicle sales were down by 15 per cent to 12,194 units last month as against 14,399 units in the year-ago month, M&M said.

Exports were down 32 per cent to 1,868 units from 2,730 units in the same period a year earlier.
M&M Chief Executive Automotive Division and International Operations Pravin Shah said: "We are happy to have achieved a growth of 5 per cent for our passenger vehicle segment in December with 2014 being an immensely challenging year for the auto industry".

Suzuki Motorcycle sales jump 43%

Suzuki Motorcycle India on Friday reported 42.65 per cent rise in sales at 29,036 units for the month of December 2014. The company had sold 20,355 units in December 2013, Suzuki Motorcycle India said in a statement. Suzuki Motorcycle India Executive Vice President, Atul Gupta said that customer satisfaction and word-of-mouth publicity are key factors that work in the company’s favour.

Ford India sales up 28%

Ford India on Friday reported an increase of 28.47 per cent in total sales at 14,401 units for December. It had sold 11,209 units in December 2013, Ford India said in a statement.

However, Ford's domestic sales declined by 36.05 per cent to 3,754 units in December as against 5,871 units in the same month of last year, it added. Its exports jumped nearly two-fold to 10,647 units last month as against 5,338 units in the year-ago period. For the entire 2014, the company posted 29 per cent increase in combined domestic wholesales and exports at 1,54,121 vehicles.
Domestic wholesales during the year declined by 4.09 at 77,140 units from 80,431 units in 2013.

"2014 has been a challenging year for the Indian automotive industry. Factors like high interest rates and inflation impacted the much needed turnaround in sales and consumer sentiment," Ford India Marketing, Sales and Service executive director Anurag Mehrotra said. The government's recent decision to discontinue excise duty concessions will only add to the woes of the automotive industry with customers postponing purchases, he added. "We hope that the government will introduce some pro-consumer policies in its upcoming budget to help improve market sentiment and boost demand," Mehrotra said.

"From the launch of our new manufacturing plant in Sanand, Gujarat to a robust vehicle introduction over the next 18 to 20 months, we will bring the best of Ford to our Indian customers this year," he added.

Bajaj Auto sales down 5.52%, exports up 10%

Bajaj Auto on Friday reported 5.52 per cent decline in motorcycle sales to 2,46,233 units in December 2014.

The company had sold 2,60,645 motorcycle units in the year-ago period, Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) said in a statement.

BAL said exports were up 10.20 per cent during the month at 1,66,134 units as compared to 1,50,753 units in the same month, a year ago.

In the commercial vehicles category, its sales stood at 43,011 units, up 15.83 per cent, as against 37,131 units in December 2013.

The total vehicle sales of the company during last month stood at 2,89,244 units, down 2.86 per cent, as against 2,97,776 units in the same month a year-ago, the statement added.
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