GM India car sales dip 23% in July 2012

While the year 2012 opened on a positive note for major auto companies in India, month of July 2012 has not been that noteworthy for some. General Motors India has stated that sales have dipped by 23.38% in July 2012, with sales reaching 7,285 during the month as compared to 9,508 units sold in the month of July 2011.

Of these total sales in July 4,354 units of Beat were sold while Spark sales reached 534 units, Aveo sales touched 176 units and only 501 units of Cruze were sold. Tavera, the company's multipurpose vehicle sales reached 1,615 units in the month of July.

Many reasons can be given for this depressing drop in total sales in the month of July. A number of factors lead to its fall which includes high interest rates, escalating fuel prices, while challenging market conditions continue unabated in the Indian auto sector. The company executives while surveying this situation do not expect sales to show any improvement in the future while projections for the upcoming festive season also remain dim.

GM India says Cadillac not to be launched anytime soon

General Motors has said no to the launch of its Cadillac brands of luxury cars in India. This is in total contrast to other luxury car companies like Mercedes, BMW and Audi which are looking to expand their markets. General Motors says that's its looking to increase sales under the Chevrolet brand and is not considering any plan for the Cadillac in India.

Market for luxury cars has been growing by leaps and bounds in the past few years. Its has been estimated that about 25,000 luxury car units have been sold in 2011, while demand this year is under pressure due to rising interest rates and slow economic growth.

Other than German car makers, companies like Toyota and Nissan are looking to launch their cars in India. Lexus from Toyota and Infiniti from Nissan are two luxury car brands that may see the light in the India car market. While Toyota has made a firm commitment for launching the Lexus in India, the same can't be said for the Infiniti. High import duty for fully built luxury cars is one of the main reasons keeping luxury cars off the Indian markets in the past few years. Import duty as of now is about 130 per cent on a single unit.