Auto sales remain steady in September

Most auto companies reported strong sales in September. The passenger vehicles segment reported strong growth as chip shortage eased, but the long wait times for high-end variants remained. Analysts suggest the festive season ahead could be good, with expectations of a recovery in domestic demand.

Automobile sales remained steady in the month of September this year owing to strong festive demand and low base registered in the same month last year. While overall sales went up by 11 per cent, passenger vehicles recorded growth of 10 per cent, two-wheelers grew 9 per cent, three-wheelers sales went up by massive 72 per cent and CV sales was up by 19 per cent in the month.

The PV segment continued its steady run by showing a growth of 10 per cent YoY due to better availability of semi-conductors, new launches and feature rich products that kept customers glued to dealerships during the festive period. The waiting period continued to range between three months to 24 months especially for SUVs and compact SUVs which have become the absolute choice for customers.

The two-wheeler segment showed a minimal growth of 9 per cent YoY due to inflation that made vehicle loans expensive. While India is showing signs of revival, two-wheelers especially entry level vehicles are finding extremely less buyers thus dragging the entire segment.

The three-wheeler segment continues to see structural shift from ICE to EV. This is also reflected in extremely healthy growth rate of e-rickshaws. Apart from better availability of vehicles with full range products including alternate fuels, customers have started using public transport and rickshaw service thus fueling demand in this segment.

While the CV segment grew by 19 per cent, it is the HCV segment which showed a healthy growth of 40 pc YoY. Reasons like better availability of vehicles, festivities, bulk fleet purchase and government’s continued push for infrastructure development made this segment shine.

Passenger Vehicles

In the passenger vehicles segment, Maruti Suzuki sold a total of 176,306 units in September 2022, against 86,380 units sold in the same month last year. The shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production of vehicles, mainly in domestic models, the company informed.

Mr Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Director, Maruti Suzuki, said, “It is the second-best month for the company in 42 months. It is for the first time that the one million sales mark was breached by the industry in a quarter.”

Tata Motors registered growth of 85 per cent YoY with sales of 47,864 units this September against 25,898 units sold in September 2021. Mr Shailesh Chandra, MD, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. said, “Tata Motors scaled new highs in passenger vehicles led by record setting sales of Nexon and Punch.

Nissan Motor India announced cumulative wholesales of 7265 units, with domestic wholesales of 3177 units and export wholesales of 4088 units, in the month of September 2022. The cumulative wholesale YTD growth stood at 18 pc as compared to the same period last year.

Mr Rakesh Srivastava, Managing Director, Nissan Motor India, commented, “We are happy to sustain our sales momentum in domestic and export markets. The festive season has contributed to an increase in demand for the Nissan Magnite across markets on the strength of its value proposition. We are hopeful the momentum will continue with improvement in supply and customer sentiments.”

Toyota Kirloskar Motor registered growth of 66 per cent as the company sold a total of 15,378 units in the month of September 2022 over 9284 units sold in September 2021. Similarly, South Korean carmaker Kia said its domestic sales in September was led by Seltos with over 42 per cent contribution, clocking 11,000 units.

Honda Cars India Ltd. (HCIL), recorded monthly domestic sales of 8,714 units in September 2022 registering a growth of 29 pc over the same period last year. The export numbers for the company stood at 2,333 units.

Likewise, Mahindra & Mahindra recorded overall growth of 163 pc in September 2022 with total sales of 34,508 units against 13,134 units sold in the same month last year. The company’s utility vehicles segment registered highest sales of 34,262 units growing by 166 per cent over last year.

CVs & Three-wheelers

In the commercial vehicles segment, Tata Motors sold 9,983 units of M&HCV, 5,144 units of I&LCV, 2,287 units of passenger carriers, along with 15,565 units of SCV cargo and pickup in the domestic market. According to Girish Wagh, Executive Director, Tata Motors, “Tata Motors CV business registered a 20 pc growth in domestic sales during the quarter and this growth was led by stronger sales of MHCVs and a robust recovery in passenger carriers demand. Improving fleet utilizations, pick up in road construction projects and increase in cement consumption catalyzed the demand recovery for MHCVs.”

Ashok Leyland reported its M&HCV domestic sales at 10,475 units in September this year as against just 4,529 units in the same month of last year. VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) sold 133 units of Volvo Trucks and Buses in September 2022 as compared to 56 units in September 2021, representing a growth of 137.5 pc.

Two-wheelers

Among two-wheelers, Hero MotoCorp dispatched 480,237 motorcycles and 39,743 scooters in September 2022. “Heading into the peak festive season, the company remains optimistic about customer demand over the coming weeks. The normal monsoon across most parts of the country and the encouraging farm activity is likely to contribute towards positive customer sentiments,” a company release informed.

Ather Energy sold 7435 units in September 2022, registering a 247 pc YoY growth. Similarly, TVS Motor Company registered a growth of 9 per cent in September 2022 with sales of 379,011 units as against 347,156 units in the month of September 2021.