Car sales crash first time in 10 years

Car sales crashed to a negative in 2012-13, the fall coming after a decade. Passenger car sales for March fell over 20% led by an across-the board sharp decline posted by leading carmakers. Slowing economy and continuance of high interest rates kept buyer sentiment at its lowest.

Maruti, Hyundai and Tata Motors - among the country's top auto makers - all finished March with negative volumes (year-on-year).

The story is not too different for two-wheelers. The country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero MotoCorp posted a 11% decline in March selling 4,68,283 units, TVS Motor Company too registered a contraction of over 10%.

The last time the Indian car market was in the red was in 2002-03 when it fell by 2.1%. The fall in 2012-13 will be even sharper as the contraction has been much more now, sources said.

The industry is pinning hopes on new launches like Honda Amaze sedan and Ford Eco Sport SUV for incremental numbers.

Demand for new cars has remained weak for most parts of the fiscal, and March did not prove to be any different. The fall in March will be the fifth straight month of decline for the car industry. Despite historic high discounts of over 10% to 15%

Frequent production cuts, halt in investments are raising doubts over the earlier perception of India being one of the biggest-potential car markets in the world. The prevalent glum macroeconomic environment, uncertain fuel prices and rising interest rates have taken a toll, constraining customers to defer car purchases.