<div>It’s official. Despite the month-long lock out at Maruti Udyog’s Manesar plant, rivals could not step into the vacuum created by the country’s largest auto-maker; it just led to a fall in overall passenger car sales.<br /><br />According to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, auto sales in August fell by 19 per cent to 1,18,142 units from 1,45,066 units a year ago. And the occupant of the pole-position, Maruti which has a 40 per cent market share, turned out to be the worst hit. Its sales in August fell much higher than the industry -- by 40.8 per cent to 54,154 units. Takers for its DZire fell by 61 per cent to 3,085 units and SX4 by 76.4 per cent to 447 units. In the compact passenger-car segment, combined sales of the Estillo, Ritz and Swift fell by 62.2 per cent to 6,059 units. “Owing to the lock out at the Manesar plant (21st July to 20th August 2012), the supply of Swift, Dzire, SX4 and A-star models was impacted,” the company said in a statement.<br /><br /><strong>No Dent Yet</strong><br />The Manesar lock-out came as a god-send for rivals to step into Maruti’s turf; some unleashed a barrage of discounts and special offers ranged between Rs 20,000 and Rs 60,000 on petrol and diesel variants; plus bells and whistles by way of offers on car accessories, insurance schemes and help-with loans. A New Delhi-based car dealer says Maruti’s competition did not ratchet production. Firm interest rates and lack of demand have proved to be dampeners for the industry. But interest rose for the Figo and Liva. “There has been an increase in inquiries, especially given the fact that they offer diesel variants in the same category as the Swift, a current favourite,” says Kapil Arora, partner-automotive practice, Ernst & Young.<br /><br />It seems to be a mixed bag of fortunes for Tata Motors which appears to have gained a bit from Maruti’s travails. There was a spurt in bookings by 33 per cent to 22,311 units led by the Tata Nano which sold 6,507 units. Swift competitor’s in the hatchback space, the Indica series saw a jump of five per cent to 7,591. But at entry sedan level where Maruti’s Dzire holds sway, the Tata Indigo series was unable to make a dent and sales fell by 29 per cent to 3,629 units. You can expect Maruti to make up for the blip due to Manesar. “The overwhelming response to new Swift Dzire, healthy bookings for Ertiga and good demand for new Swift will drive Maruti Suzuki’s volume going forward”, points out Mitul Shah, auto-analyst at Karvy Stock Broking.<br /><br />In terms of market share, the extent of the damage would be figured out only after the September numbers were out, Kandaswami further said. At present Maruti commands about 40 per cent of the passenger vehicle segment, followed by Hyundai which stakes claim to 20 per cent of the market.<br /><br />Car makers hope the upcoming festive season will bring in some cheer when sales typically pick up by up to 30 per cent. More than 25 car new car and updated models are slotted for launch over the next couple of months. “Our recent dealer checks indicate high inventory levels across segments. We expect demand to <br /><br />remain weak till the festive season”, says Chirag Shah, vice-president-Automobiles at Enam Research. But it will take some effort to get buyers to walk into dealerships. “It (festive season) is traditionally the time of purchases in India; It leads to a spurt in sales. However, this year, most manufacturers will have to do something special to woo the buyer,” said Kumar Kandaswami, Leader Manufacturing Industry for Deloitte (India).<br /><br />It’s a hard drive ahead.</div>
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