Thaindian News

Chennai, Jan 1 (IANS) The city-based car manufacturers Hyundai Motor India and Ford India closed 2010 with higher sales compared to 2009. Hyundai, the country’s second largest car manufacturer, saw its domestic sales grow by 23.1 percent while exports saw a downslide of 8.5 percent, a company official said Saturday.

It logged a cumulative growth of 7.8 percent in 2010 selling 603,819 units (domestic 356,717, exports 247,102) as against last year’s 559,880 units (289,863 and 270,017 respectively).

Arvind Saxena, director of marketing and sales, said: “The year 2010 has been positive for the industry and Hyundai Motor. For the first time since inception we clocked record cumulative sales of over 600,000 units.”

“We expect the market to continue to grow in 2011 although the rate of growth may come down somewhat,” he added.

Last month the company sold 47,228 units (domestic 26,168, exports 21,060) marginally up from 47,217 units (22,252 and 24,965 respectively) sold in December 2009.

The segment-wise cumulative sales in December 2010 are as follows: A2 segment (Santro, i10 and i20) 42,397 units; A3 segment (Accent and Verna Transform) 4,708; A5 segment (Sonata Transform) 21; and Sports utility vehicle segment (Santa Fe) 102 units.

On the other hand, Ford India closed calendar year 2010 selling 83,887 units, up from 29,488 units sold in 2009, according to an official.

During 2010 Ford India sold more than 60,000 units of its compact car Figo since its launch in March. The company’s other models - Ikon, Fiesta and Endeavour - account for the rest of the sales.

“This has been an outstanding year for Ford in India with nearly triple digit growth rates. It is also extremely encouraging to see the Figo sweep many prestigious industry awards and it is gratifying to see so many Figos on India’s roads,” said Michael Boneham, president and managing director.

The company sold around 4,300 units last month down from 7,504 sold in November 2010.