Car exports fall 3 pc in June.

NEW DELHI: Exports of passenger cars from India declined by over three per cent in June to 36,874 units, mainly due to slowdown in demand from Europe.

According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), car exports in June 2009 stood at 38,113 units.

"The decline in exports is primarily due to the slowing down of demand from Europe, but in other markets of the world it is picking up," SIAM President Pawan Goenka said.

The country's largest exporter Hyundai Motor India's overseas sales in June declined by 22.11 per cent to 18,888 from 24,251 units in the corresponding month last year.

The domestic market leader Maruti Suzuki's exports, however, increased by 13.28 per cent at 15,006 units in June against 13,247 units in the same month of 2009.

For the Indian car exporters, the European nations are the major destinations.

During the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal, exports of passenger vehicles, including cars, grew 11.2 per cent, which Goenka said "is the lowest in the past eight quarters".

The country's car exports registered a robust growth of 33.23 per cent in the last fiscal, at a time when many major global auto markets witnessed a decline.

The growth was fueled by a scrappage scheme that was given by many European nations during last fiscal to boost small car sales. Under the scheme, various governments had offered incentives to buy new cars in exchange of old ones.

However, the funds under that scheme eventually exhausted and the demand for small cars started to weaken.

In June, motorcycle exports rose substantially. Most of the Indian two-wheeler makers' overseas sales come from the neighbouring countries.

Source : Economics Times