Domestic passenger car sales declined by 10.08 per cent to 144,516 units in August, 2011, from 160,713 units in the same month last year.

Maruti Suzuki India says it will not resume full-scale production at its Manesar plant till workers sign a 'good conduct bond', as demanded by the company to ensure there is no repeat of quality issues that have surfaced at the plant.

Undeterred by the slowdown in the four-wheeler segment, two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto  says it aims to sell over four million units this financial year.

Shares of car-maker Maruti Suzuki India fell by over 2 per cent  after the company reported a 12.74 per cent fall in sales for August due to the ongoing labour unrest at its Manesar plant, which has affected production.

The country's largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday reported 12.74 per cent fall in sales for August to 91,442 units due to the ongoing labour unrest at its Manesar plant that affected production.

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\"MSI began assembly operations at Manesar this morning. The factory was able to roll out its first Swift since production was halted on Monday,\" a company spokesperson said.

Maruti Suzuki India restarted some highly-automated sections of its Manesar plant after a 30-hour shutdown sparked by the refusal of most workers to sign a \"good conduct bond\". The company said its managers and engineers have been scouting for new hands and have identified over 200 experienced and trained people, who are likely to join work within a few days, on contracts.

\"Production has not started yet, but there are indications that it will resume today with alternate arrangements like contract workers and hiring technicians,\" a company spokesperson said.

The company expects the new version to sell around 18,000 units per month, against the current sales of the old Swift of around 12,000 units per month, according to Mayank Pareek, managing executive officer, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki.

\"We have reduced the production of all the modelsexcept Swift and DZire. The market is not doing good now,\" Maruti SuzukiIndia (MSI) Managing Director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi said.

The economy is still growing at over seven per cent. Corporate profits will rise this year, too (if advance tax payments are an indication) and employees have got healthy pay hikes. Under the circumstances, car sales should be galloping. But, they are down to a crawl.

Domestic passenger car sales declined by15.76 per cent to 1,33,747 units in July, 2011, from 1,58,767 units in the samemonth last year.

Looking to hit back at competitors with the new version of its hatchback Swift, Maruti Suzuki has said it will drastically cut exports of diesel engines to Hungary and focus on Indian market.

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As India's ambition to become a global auto hub is curbed, manufacturers focus on the domestic market. But that is where the turmoil is.

The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council scales down its forecast for the country's economic growth rate to 8.2 per cent for the current financial year from 9 per cent earlier. Also, the country's burgeoning auto industry posts dismal results for the month of July. And there's more - the HSBC Markit Business Activity Index falls to 53.6 in July from 55.3 in the previous month, its third straight decline.

Car sales growth in the domestic market continued to slow down, with the top three companies - Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors - reporting declining numbers in July compared to the same month last year.

\"Increase in fuel prices and interest rates affected consumer sentiment. The seven per cent increase in diesel prices announced in June 2011 further impacted cars sales, given that diesel models now account for over a third of car sales,\" a Crisil report said.

Maruti Suzuki India reports a 25.34 per cent fall in total sales for July to 75,300 units, mainly due to sluggish market condition and non-production of hatchback Swift.