STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE
Kolkata, 1 August
The automobile industry continues to suffer from slowdown, with major domestic car manufacturers like Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra registering a steep decline in sales during the month of July this year.
The country’s largest car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki, however, was able to beat the odds and registered a marginal 1.3 per cent rise in sales during the month under review.
Maruti sold a total of 83,299 units, including exports, during July 2013 compared with 82,234 units sold in the same month of the previous year, it said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
However, during the first four months (April to July) of this financial year, the company’s sales fell by 7.5 per cent compared with the same period of the previous fiscal, the filing said.
Maruti sold a total of 3,49,733 units during the period compared with 3,78,130 units sold during the first four months of the previous fiscal, the filing added.
Domestic auto major Tata Motors reported a nearly 20 per cent fall in sales during the month of July this year.
Tata Motors sold 51,468 units during the month under review compared with 64,341 units it sold during the same month of the previous year, a statement issued by the company here said. 
In domestic market, Tata’s commercial and passenger vehicles sales stood at 47,191 units during the just-concluded month, while the remaining were exports. 
Till July this financial year, the company’s cumulative sales, including exports, were 204,659 units.
Another domestic auto major Mahindra & Mahindra reported a 21 per cent decline in sales during July this year. The car major sold 37,096 units during the month compared with 47,059 units in the same month of the last year.
M&M’s cumulative sales during the first four months of financial year 2013-14 were 1,60,080 units compared with 1,73,085 units during the first four months of financial year 2012-13, thereby registering a decline of eight per cent.
Maruti’s rival and country’s second largest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor India registered cumulative sales of 48,704 units in the month of July 2013. Total sales of HMIL stood at 52,845 units in the corresponding month of the last year, thereby showing a decline of 5.9 per cent, it said in a Press statement issued here.
In two-wheeler segment, the country’s largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp today reported a marginal rise in total sales at 4,87,545 units for July this year. In the same month of the previous year, it had sold 4,84,217 units, Hero MotoCorp said in a statement.