GST roll-out puts July car sales in top gear
Domestic sales of passenger vehicles (cars, vans and utility vehicles) expanded at more than 15 per cent in July — the highest pace in the first seven months of this calendar year. This growth, however, comes after a double-digit decline of 11 per cent in June, when companies regulated sales to reduce dealers’ loss on pre-goods and services tax (GST) inventory. Six leading companies, including Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Honda and Toyota, recorded high double-digit growth, as they replenished the inventory at dealerships. The country’s biggest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki , has sold a record monthly volume of 153,298 vehicles in the domestic market during July, growing 22 per cent over last year. Maruti, the country’s most valued automobile company, made a new record at the bourses, with its stock hitting a fresh high of Rs 7,920 in Tuesday’s trade. It closed at Rs 7,859, up almost 2 per cent from the previous day. All vehicle segments, except vans, recorded...