Though some market leaders are yet to publish their sales figures for the 2008-09, it is safe to say that everyone in the industry is grateful to finally put one of the worst years the Indian automobile sector has seen in a very long time behind them. Yet, as Arvind Saxena, senior vice-president (marketing and sales) Hyundai Motors India Limited, said, “The industry is far from seeing a turn around at this moment.”

A year ago, in March 2008, the industry was on a high benefiting from a stable global economy and excise cuts courtesy the 2008 Budget. Given the state of the economy it was highly unlikely that companies would be able to compete with last year’s sales figures.

The passenger car segment has reported across the board double-digit fall in sales growth. HMIL, which continues to swing between positive and negative sales from month to month, has reported a 15.81 per cent decline in sales, selling only 24,745 units in March 2009 against 29,401 sold in March 2008. Tata Motors, after a brief respite last month, has once again reported a 12.64 per cent negative growth in sales. The company that sold 24,737 units in March last year, only sold 21,610 units in March 2009. There is a limit to what the new Honda City can do to help Honda Siel Cars India in difficult times and for the first time this quarter the company selling only 7,368 units in March 2009 against 8,895 units sold during the same period last year, recorded a 17.17 per cent decline in sales. There also seem to be no end to the Logan’s misery which recorded a whopping 68.64 per cent decline in sales. The Mahindra and Mahindra sedan sold a mere 962 units this March while it had sold 3,068 units in March 2008.

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