Sales of cars, sedans and utility vehicles in the local market rose in strong double-digits to record levels last month with automakers ramping up dispatches from factories to meet robust customer demand in the ongoing festive season.
The country’s largest passenger vehicles manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki India reported a total domestic sale of 1,68,047 units in October, showing a highest-ever growth of around 20 per cent year-on-year (YoY) as compared with 1,40,337 units in the corresponding month last year.
Shashank Srivastava, senior executive officer (marketing and sales), MSIL said the festive season has gone well so far helping the company increase its market share by 1.3% to 43% in October. “January onwards, every month has been a best-ever month for the industry, which is a very positive sign. With the semi-conductor crisis fading, automakers have been able to increase production which helped the industry report its highest-ever sales for any month in October. Retails too have been good, which have encouraged dealers to build up stocks for the upcoming festivals of Dhanteras, Diwali and Bhai Dooj later this month,” he said.
Korean rival Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) said it has recorded a growth of 15 per cent YoY in domestic wholesales (dispatches to dealers) to 55,128 units in October as compared with 48,001 units in the same month last year.
Exports for the company also rose 36 per cent YoY to 13,600 units during the month as compared with 10,005 units in October 2022, the company said in a statement.
“As we enter the peak of festive season in India, Hyundai Motor India registered robust sales number of 55,128 units in the domestic market in the month of October. The recent announcement of standardising of six airbags across all Hyundai models and variants has been extremely well received by our valued customers. Also, the supply situation is back to full normalcy and our network is geared up to delight customers with the delivery of their favourite Hyundai cars,” Tarun Garg, Chief Operating Officer, HMIL, said.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), also reported a YoY growth of 32 per cent in its overall auto sales in October at 80,679 vehicles, including exports.
In domestic wholesales, the company recorded the highest sales for the fourth consecutive month at 43,708 units during the month, a growth of 35 per cent YoY as compared with 32,298 units of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in the corresponding month last year.
Domestic sales of commercial vehicles (CV) also recorded the highest-ever at 25,715 units during the month, a growth of 22.5 per cent YoY as compared with 20,980 units in October 2022.
“In October, we clocked the highest-ever volumes at 80,679 vehicles, a growth of 32 per cent. Both SUVs and CVs individually achieved highest ever volumes for the third consecutive month at 43,708 and 25,715 vehicles respectively. While the strong festive demand should see us continue our growth momentum in November, we will keep a close watch of select supply related challenges,” Veejay Nakra, President, Automotive Division, M&M, said.
Tata Motors also reported a growth of seven per cent YoY to 48,637 units in October in the passenger vehicle segment as compared with 45,423 units in the corresponding month last year. In the CV segment, too, the company’s domestic sales saw a growth of four per cent YoY to 32,488 units during the month as against 31,320 in October 2022.
Kia reported its 4th highest-ever monthly sales with 24,351 unit sales in the month of October. The onset of festivities and strong growth recorded by the new Seltos helped Kia to record 4.41% Y-o-Y growth, compared to the 23,323 units sold in the corresponding month of the last year.
Hardeep Singh Brar, National Head, Sales & Marketing, Kia India said, “During the festive season, our customers’ positive outlook has helped us achieve our fourth-highest monthly sales ever in India. The fact that our products like the Seltos, Sonet and Carens continue to dominate in their respective segment, despite multiple new launches by competition, is a major accomplishment. We are working towards maintaining the same momentum in the coming months”.
Meanwhile, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) reported yet another month of strong performance with sales of 21,879 units, indicating a rise of 66 per cent YoY in comparison with 13,143 units in October 2022. The company sold a total of 20,542 units in the domestic market and exported 1337 units.
“This year, the offtake of festive season has been very strong for both TKM and well as the industry. In the month of October, we reported our sales of 21,879 units which is mainly driven by the festive season push along with the strong market acceptance of the entire product line-up, resulting in higher volumes,” Atul Sood, Vice President of Sales, and Strategic Marketing at TKM, said.
Honda Cars India Ltd. (HCIL), registered monthly domestic sales of 9,400 units in October backed by strong demand for its new SUV Honda Elevate. The export numbers for HCIL stood at 3,683 units in Oct’23.
Sharing thoughts on the monthly sales performance, Mr. Yuichi Murata, Director, Marketing and Sales, Honda Cars India Ltd said, “There is a strong demand during the festival period with incredible response for our new model Honda Elevate from our customers. We are actively working to meet the strong demand for Elevate. The Honda City and Amaze models have also maintained their good performance. As we near the auspicious celebrations of Dhanteras and Diwali, our dealerships are focusing on maximising deliveries to our esteemed customers and making them a part of the Honda family.”
MG Motor India said it achieved a retail sales number of 5,108 units during the month, a 17 per cent YoY increase as compared with 4,367 units in October 2022.
In the commercial vehicle segment, market leader Tata Motors saw sales increase by 4% to 32,488 units in October. Chennai-based Ashok Leyland said its domestic sales went up by 14% to 15,759 units in the month under consideration.
