Dhanteras 2025 car sales: Maruti, Hyundai, Tata to witness record deliveries

Maruti, Hyundai and Tata are set to witness record Dhanteras 2025 sales.

Fuelled by Goods and Services Tax (GST) 2.0 reforms and robust festive demand, companies like Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai Motor India and Tata Motors are expecting record car deliveries on Dhanteras.

Dhanteras is being observed across two days this year as Trayodashi Tithi starts at 12:18 PM on October 18 and ends at 1:51 PM on October 19, overlapping two calendar days. The festival is celebrated on Krishna Trayodashi, the 13th day of the waning lunar phase in the Hindu month of Kartik.

While Maruti is looking to deliver around 51,000 cars in two days, Hyundai is aiming for nearly 14,000 units. Tata expects to deliver over 25,000 cars during the Dhanteras-Diwali period.

Maruti's Senior Executive Officer for Marketing and Sales, Partho Banerjee, said that we expect to reach 41,000 car deliveries today and around 10,000 tomorrow. As it is Saturday, some of the customers hesitate to buy metal, he added.

For Maruti, this will be the best-ever Dhanteras sales, surpassing last year's record of around 42,000 units. "Our showrooms will be open quite late in the night to serve our customers," Banerjee said.

According to Banerjee, Maruti has garnered almost 4,50,000 bookings since announcing price cuts on September 18 across its product line-up, owing to GST rate rationalisation. Of the total bookings, 94,000 have been for the entry-level models like the Alto K10, S-Presso, Celerio and WagonR.

Since the implementation of GST 2.0, Maruti has retailed close to 3,25,000 vehicles. Replying to a question from Moneycontrol, Banerjee said that there is higher traction for models in the 18% GST slab as compared to the 40% GST slab.

Hyundai's 2025 Dhanteras car deliveries are expected to be 20% higher than last year, amid a strong demand for its SUVs like the Creta, Venue and Exter.

"This year, Dhanteras deliveries are spread across multiple days because of it being a Saturday. We are witnessing strong customer demand, with deliveries expected to be around 14,000 units, approximately 20% higher than last year," Hyundai's Whole-Time Director and Chief Operating Officer (COO), Tarun Garg, said.

"The positive momentum is driven by the festive spirit, a buoyant market environment and the encouraging impact of GST 2.0 reforms," he added.

Driven by sub-4 metre SUVs like the Nexon and the Punch, Tata is also expected to perform handsomely.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Chief Commercial Officer Amit Kamat said: "This year, Dhanteras and Diwali deliveries are spread over two-three days in line with the auspicious mahurats. Overall demand has been robust, and the GST 2.0 reform has further provided positive momentum. We expect to deliver over 25,000 vehicles during this period."

Under GST 2.0, the relatively smaller cars (sub-4 metre models) are in the 18% slab, while the compensation cess on automobiles has been completely removed. They earlier attracted a GST of 28% and a compensation cess of 1% to 3%, resulting in a total tax incidence of 29% to 31%.

The bigger models, as well as the luxury cars, have been placed in the 40% slab now. In GST 1.0, the overall tax on them was from 43% to 50% (28% GST + 15% to 22% compensation cess).