The Indian auto industry has no plans of slowing down when it comes to sales. The month of April proved to be very profitable for the car industry with sales zooming to the top. In spite of the recent hike in car prices, sales of most car companies recorded increase in sales. Also, owing to the BS IV emission norms, some of the models had been discontinued in the 13 big cities. But, almost all the manufacturers clocked double digit growth figures.

India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India has reported 29.70 per cent growth in its sales for April this year at 93,058 units against 71,748 units sold during the same month last year. In the domestic market, Maruti sold 80,034 units compared to the 64,857 units it sold in April last year, an increase of 23.40 per cent. Exports shot up by 89 per cent from 6,891 units in April 2009 to 13,024 units in April 2010.

However, sales of the M800 flagship model that drove the firm to maintain the lead over others fell by 3.71 per cent at 2,258 units. Sales in the compact car or the A2 segment that has the Alto, WagonR, Zen, Swift, Ritz and A-Star grew 20.5 per cent at 56,416 units. Sales of models in its mid-sized or A3 segment comprising SX4 and D’Zire rose 41.4 percent to 9,994 cars. Shares of the company declined Rs 8.6, or 0.67 per cent, to settle at Rs 1,279.75. The total volume of shares traded was 94,800 at the BSE.

The multi-utility segment, however, saw a dip with sales falling down to 21.3 per cent units. The rise in sales was witnessed in spite of a hike in prices of all cars by up to Rs 10,000 on April 2 following an increase in input costs and introduction of new the BS IV emission norms.

General Motors India has been tasting success in recent times. It is riding high on the success of the popular Chevrolet brand, recording 120 per cent increase in sales in April 2010, compared to the corresponding period in 2009. The car maker sold 10,601 units in April 2010 as against 4,823 units in April 2009. The April sales included 3,852 units of Chevrolet Beat, 3,507 units of Chevrolet Spark, 1,529 units of Chevrolet Tavera, 692 units of Chevrolet Cruze, 529 units of Chevrolet Aveo U-VA, 315 units of Chevrolet Aveo, 115 units of Chevrolet Captiva and 62 units of Chevrolet Optra.

April has brought happiness even to Tata Motors’. The company’s total sales including exports of commercial and passenger automobiles shot up by 52 per cent to 57,202 vehicles in April 2010 over April 2009. Domestic sales rose 49 per cent to 54,065 units. Exports showed an unbelievable increase. The exports rose 148.8 per cent to 3,137 units.

Commercial vehicle sales in the domestic market rose 36 per cent to 30,963 units. Passenger vehicle sales jumped 70 per cent to 24,902 units. Passenger vehicle sales include distribution of Fiat cars by Tata Motors. The world’s cheapest car Tata Nano saw overall sales of 3,525 units last month.

Ford India also reported an over three-fold jump in April sales at 7,509 units. The Ford Figo must have been working the magic there. The car has been receiving a very good response. Last year, in April, Ford had sold just 2,034 cars. Hyundai Motor’s total sales for April 2010 rose 17.24 per cent at 52,020 units against 44,370 units in the same period last year. Toyota has been facing a lot of problems globally. But in India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s sales rose by 77.23 per cent at 6,001 units in April against 3,386 units in April 2009.