10:00AM New York, 7:30PM Mumbai - Tata Motors exports increase 11%; January sales slightly decline.

Overview

Tata Motors reported a total sale of 54,796 vehicles including exports for the month of January 2008, nearly flat compared to 55,440 vehicles sold in January last year.

The monthly sales - both domestic and exports - crossed the 50,000 mark for the first time this fiscal year.

Tata Motors sales from exports at 4,147 vehicles in January 2008 grew by 11% compared to 3,743 vehicles in January 2007. The cumulative sales from exports in the current period at 44,410 have recorded a growth of 6% over the previous year.

Commercial Vehicles

Commercial vehicles sales in January 2008 in the domestic market were 30,530, up 6% compared to 28,896 vehicles sold in the comparable period a year ago.

M&HCV sales stood at 15,633 nos., a decline of 8.6% from January 2007, while LCV sales were 14,897 nos., up 26% from January 2007.

Cumulative sales of commercial vehicles in the domestic market for the fiscal were 2,46,060 nos., up 2% from last year’s levels.

Cumulative M&HCV sales stood at 1,28,504 nos., a decline of 7.8% from last year, while LCV sales for the fiscal year were 1,17,556 nos., an increase of 16%.

Passenger Vehicles

In January, the passenger vehicle business achieved total sales of 20,119 vehicles in the domestic market, the highest during the fiscal year with a previous average of 17,000 vehicle sales per month till December, but a decline of 11.8% from 22,801 sold in January 2007.

The Indica reported sales of 12,360 nos., a decline of 14.6% from January 2007.

The Indigo family registered sales of 2,901, a decline of 9.5% from January 2007.

The new Indica Dicor and the Indigo CS (Compact Sedan) launched in January have received an encouraging reception, with production being in a ramp up mode, the management said.

The Sumo and Safari accounted for sales of 4,858, a decline of 5% over January 2007. The Safari recorded a 23% gain over January 2007, with its highest ever sales of 2,550 nos. in a month.

Cumulative sales of passenger vehicles in the domestic market for the fiscal year were 1,71,255, a decline of 4.8% from a year ago.

Cumulative sales of the Indica totaled 1,12,471, down 3.7%.

Cumulative sales of the Indigo family were 22,959, a decline of 13%.