By IANS,
New Delhi : Auto major Hyundai Motor India Monday said its domestic sales in January were down 13.5 percent to 21,016 units from 24,301 units in the corresponding month last year.
However, total sales including exports saw only a marginal dip of 1.3 percent to 37,216 units in the period under review from 37,700 units in the year-ago period.
This happened because the company’s exports grew 20.9 percent to 16,200 units in January as against 13,399 units in the same month last year.
Senior marketing vice president Arvind Saxena said the response to the new i20 compact car had been very positive, attracting bookings for 2,500 units in the first month of its launch.
“In the overseas market also the i20 has been received very well in spite of the slowdown. We have shipped over 6,500 units and are hopeful we will be able to maintain our market position in the coming months,” he said.
Saxena, however, admitted that “2009 as predicted is going to be a very challenging year for the entire automotive industry”.
Hyundai’s segment-wise cumulative sale last month in the A2 segment (Santro, i10, Getz and i20) was 35,096 units; in the A3 segment (Accent and Verna) it was 2,057 units; and for A5 segment (Sonata Transform) it was 62 units.