new delhi car sales wrapped up yet another year of disappointment as the slowing economy higher interest rates and rising fuel prices kept buyers away from showrooms and demand depressed according to 201314 numbers released by companies sales remained in the red or nearflat and only those with new models could score in volumes maruti the countrys biggest carmaker could realise a poor 03 growth in volumes which stood at 1053 lakh units against 1051 lakh units in 201213 hyundai however slipped into the red as its volumes stood at 380 lakh in 201314 against 383 lakh in the previous year a cut in excise duty in the voteonaccount in february had given some hope to the car industry which expects price cuts to enthuse buyers some positive movement was witnessed in march sales though not big enough to signal a strong recovery industry body society of indian automobile manufacturers siam said that the situation is still not clear with relation to the demand it will take some more time to see if the negative trends have reversed we are getting feedback from companies that footfalls have increased siam director general vishnu mathur said month after month numbers are so volatile there is so much fluctuation that there is no trend visible utility vehicle major mahindra mahindra has also been caught up in the slowdown and saw its 201314 volumes go down 18 at 229 lakh units against 279 lakh units in 201213 post the reduction in the excise duty across all segments the auto industry has seen the level of inquiry going up but has not witnessed any major surge in sales we do hope that the sentiments improve and change post the national elections leading to an increase in demand said pravin shah chief executive automotive at mahindra mahindra tata motors also continued to suffer and saw its annual volumes slip by 38 to finish the year at 138 lakh unit sales against 222 lakh units in 201213 but while these companies found the going difficult those with new models bucked the trend honda that has introduced new models like the amaze entry sedan and the nextgeneration city saw sales going up 83 at 134 lakh units against a little over 73000 units in 201213 the company has started production from its new plant in rajasthan and will be adding two new models this year in the jazz hatchback and the mobilio mpv ford also rode high on the success of its mini suv eco sport and sold 84469 units against 77225 units in 201213 a growth of 9 the company is set to launch an entry sedan soon on the luxury side mercedes benz also rode on new models like the a and bclass to register a 47 growth in sales at 9548 units