Maruti Udyog August Sales Gain On Swift, SX4 Models

Maruti Udyog Ltd., India's biggest car maker, said sales rose 27 percent in August as demand grew for its Swift and Zen Estilo hatchbacks and the new SX4 sedan.

Maruti sold 65,968 cars, vans and sport-utility vehicles in India and overseas last month, compared with 51,855 a year earlier, the New Delhi-based automaker said in an e-mailed statement today. Local sales rose 25 percent to 60,229 and exports gained to 5,739 from 3,596 a year ago.

The Indian unit of Suzuki Motor Corp. introduced five new models in the past year to attract buyers and counter higher interest rates. Maruti aims to overtake its parent's sales in Japan this year as economic growth and rising disposable income boosts car demand.

Maruti's sales in the first five months of the current financial year climbed 21 percent to 293,546 units. The company has a target to sell 700,000 cars in India in the year ending March 31, compared with 674,924 a year earlier, according to Jagdish Khattar, its managing director.

Shares of Maruti rose 4.2 percent to 868.2 rupees at the 3:30 p.m. close on the Bombay Stock Exchange yesterday. The exchange's benchmark Sensitive Index rose 1.3 percent.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=adZHUaT7vFLA&refer=india