Car sales in India reached record highs in September, driven by strong consumer demand during the festive season coupled with the rollouts of new Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) such as Honda Elevate, Citroen C3 Aircross, Tata Nexon (facelifted version), etc.
Industry analysts reckon that carmakers despatched around 3,63,733 units in September, the highest ever monthly sales in the history of the domestic passenger vehicle (PV) market. The monthly numbers of last month surpassed the all-time high wholesales numbers of August at 3,61,124 units. On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, sales were up 2.4 percent from 3,55,353 units sold in September 2022.
During July -September 2023, sales stood at 10,76,000 units, also an all-time high. During the first half of this financial year, carmakers sold 20,72,957 units , thus crossing the two million mark for the first time during the period. Furthermore, between January-September, the PV industry crossed the three million sales mark for the first time.
For the country’s biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki, at 1,81,343 units, total sales were up 2.8 percent in September, driven by higher SUV sales. Total sales in the month include domestic sales of 1,53,106 units, sales to other OEMs of 5,726 units, and exports of 22,511 units.
Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales, Maruti Suzuki, revealed that PV sales growth has been “muted” on account of a higher base last year.
In his view, “The key reasons for the uptick in numbers (during September) are the onset of the festive season in the western and southern parts of India, and better availability of SUVs. Bookings and enquiries also remain healthy. Most of the manufacturers have gone past the semiconductor (supply) issue, and that has resulted in a lot of SUVs being produced, which was something which manufacturers, including Maruti Suzuki, were finding hard to do earlier. We are now able to ramp up production and build stocks for deliveries during Dussehra and Diwali.”
Along similar lines, Hyundai Motor India said its total sales increased 13 percent YoY to 71,641 units in September, its highest ever in a month. The country's second-largest carmaker had despatched 63,201 units to dealers in September last year.
The company’s domestic sales last month rose to 54,241 units, up 9 per cent from 49,700 units in September 2022.
"The ongoing festive season has resulted in a strong sales momentum. While the industry grew by 2 percent last month, our domestic despatches were up 9 percent. The share of SUV sales in our overall volumes continues to grow," stated Hyundai Motor India COO Tarun Garg.
Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) also reported the sale of 41,267 SUVs last month, its highest ever, and a growth of 17 percent over the 34,262 units sold in September 2022.
According to Veejay Nakra, President, Automotive Division, M&M Ltd., “We are excited to achieve our highest-ever sales of SUVs for the third consecutive month. We also registered an overall growth of 17 percent. While demand for our key SUV brands continue to be strong, we are keeping a close watch on the availability of semiconductors and select components in order to meet the strong festive season demand.”
Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) said its sales increased 53 percent YoY to 23,590 units in September, its highest ever. The Japanese carmaker had despatched 15,378 units to dealers in the same month last year.
TKM Vice President of Sales and Strategic Marketing, Atul Sood, said the performance underlines the growing acceptance of the company's diverse product portfolio.
"We are witnessing sustained demand across our product line-up, which is leading to the company's record-breaking performance. As we move forward in the festive season, we are expecting a promising period with demand continuing to grow, thus further enhancing our sales performance," he added.
MG Motor India reported a 31 per cent YoY growth in retail sales, at 5,003 units in September 2023.
However, Tata Motors’ passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market, including EV (electric vehicle) sales, were down 6 percent at 44,809 units last month, compared to 47,654 units in September 2022. The Indian automaker’s EV sales, including international markets, were at 6,050 units compared to 3,864 units in the year-ago period, a growth of 57 percent.
ALSO READ: Tata Motors total sales in domestic market rise 2% to 80,633 units in September
"Passenger vehicle sales remained strong in Q2 FY23-24 driven by new launches and pre-festive offtake. Tata Motors posted quarterly sales of 1,38,939 cars and SUVs in Q2 FY23-24, about 2.7 percent below our highest ever quarter, Q2 FY22-23," Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Managing Director Shailesh Chandra said, and added, "Our EV business continues its strong momentum and has posted a growth of about 55 percent YoY."
Carmakers said they will continue to sell aggressively in October and November, when the peak of the festive season sets in with Navaratri on October 14.
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