Good monsoon gives fillip to car sales in rural Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: Upbeat about the prospectof reaping a bumper harvest this year, thanks to the bountiful monsoon, ruralGujarat is making a beeline for car showrooms. Farmers areincreasingly hopping off their tractors and getting into swanky cars. So manyare keen to grab the Maruti, Tata and Mahindra makes. Bhailal Patel, a farmerwho works in Dastan Farms, says, “Rains this year were 25 per cent morethan last year, and have been quite beneficial to the crop.�He adds, “As of now, I haven’t decided which car I wouldgo for, but I will definitely buy sometime in January next year. It depends onthe profit I make.� Excited about the numbers from the farmingcommunity pouring into rural and semi-urban showrooms prior to the harvest, cardealers are looking forward to a bonanza post-harvest sale in the new year.“Our sales from the rural markets this year have jumped 12 percent with the segment accounting for 58 per cent of total sales,� saysJigar Maru of Marshal Trading, Mahindra & Mahindra’s Junagadh andRajkot dealer. Sanjay Sampat, a Telco dealer based in Rajkotexclaims, “Farmers are enquiring about light commercial vehicles(LCV’s) 407 and utility commercial vehicles (UCV’s) 207 as they areuseful to them.� Hyundai’s Mehsana dealership too hasreported better sales this year compared to the past two years, with farmerstaking a liking for Santro and Accent models. Says Samir Patel, managingdirector of Mehsana-based Samir Hyundai: “Farmers are increasingly optingfor the Santro and Accent models.� Dealers of Maruti Udyog,one of the carmakers with the most significant rural penetration, too are happywith the way their cars are being picked up by the farming community.Anand-based Maruti dealer P M Patel of Bhavya Motors says, “For the past3-4 years, farmers had been putting off their purchases. But they are back inthe car market now, with many buying and several others making enquiries.�Harish Chandra of Atul Motors, Maruti dealer based in Jamnagar,says, “After the good monsoon, farmers are wanting to buy cars. We arewitnessing good demand for Alto and Maruti 800 models. Sales are up 20 per cent,to 30 cars a month.� And this is expected to get even betteronce the farmers encash their harvest. “Post-harvest, we expect the risingsales to jump 15-20 per cent further,� says Harish Chandra of Atul Motors.Samir Naik of Maruti’s Cargo Motors (Guj) Rajkot feels thatthough the year was good for farmers, rural demand would take off only afterJanuary 2004. “It is still time before farmers begin to makemoney as they have to first harvest the crop and put it in the market, afterwhich the money will flow,� says Naik.