Continuing the recessionary trend, sales of commercial vehicles nosedived in the three months but two-wheeler segment registered smart growth, figures of Association of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM) showed. Sales in the heavy commercial vehicle (HCV) segment went down by 47.15 per cent with Telco's output going down by 57.23 per cent and that of Ashok Leyland by 16.84 per cent, AIAM figures showed.

In the three months of fiscal 1998-99, HCV sales were 13,447 units as against 25,447 in the same period last fiscal while light commercial vehicles (LCV) sales were down by 17.53 per cent at 12,272 units as against 14,881 in 1997-98. While Delhi-based Eicher Motors beat the recession, Telco Ashok Leyland, Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Tempo bore the brunt of it in thisperiod, the figures indicated.

Though Telco held on to a 71.3 per cent marketshare in LCV, its sales were down by 14.77 per cent. In the segment, Mahindra & Mahindra suffered a severe setback when its sales declined by 33.4 per cent and Bajaj Tempo by 3.1 per cent. Eicher Motors, however, grew by 6.7 per cent to corner eight per cent of the market.

For the first time in recent months, passenger car sales became a victim of overall economic slowdown as the segment showed a negative two per cent growth that ate into the output of leading car makers like Hindustan Motors, Premier Auto, Mahindra Ford and General Motors. India's largest car maker Maruti Udyog ltd continued to dominate the passenger car market by improving sales by 4.7 per cent and its market share to 83.83 per cent from 78.29 per cent in the same period last year.