Sales slump takes toll on India carmakers

Sales slump takes toll on India carmakers

India’s two largest carmakers were hard hit by plunging car sales in the last quarter of 2008, with Tata Motors reporting a Rs2.6bn ($53.2m) loss, its first quarterly loss in seven years, and down from a Rs4.9bn profit a year ago.

The results came a day after Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest passenger-car maker, said profits for the three months ending in December – India’s fiscal third quarter – dropped 54 per cent to $44m, with an 18.2 per cent drop in the number of vehicles sold...