Car sales reach zenith in October 2022

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With consumers making record purchases during the month of October 2022, numerous carmakers either reported highest-ever monthly sales or saw peak dispatches. The passenger vehicles (PV) market was already on an uphill drive during the months of August and September, thanks to improved vehicle despatches owing to higher production by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) reported a 21 percent increase in total sales at 167,520 units in October. The company had sold a total of 138,335 units in the same month last year, it said in a statement.  Its total domestic PV sales were at 147,072 units in October, compared to 117,013 units in the year-ago month, registering a growth of 26 percent.

“The good retail sales of the year continued in the Diwali period as well. Between Navratras and Diwali, it is estimated that total deliveries in the PV segment are around four lakh, of which about 1.9 lakh is Maruti Suzuki. Last year, the corresponding figures were three lakh for the industry and 1.31 lakh for Maruti,” stated Shashank Srivastava, Executive Director- Marketing and Sales at MSIL. He also added, “However, while this represents good growth over last year, the numbers are (still) below the pre-Covid numbers. The pre-Covid number for us was (about) 205,000 units.”

At Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M), overall auto sales for the month of October 2022 stood at 61,114 vehicles, compared to 41,908 vehicles sold in October 2021, a growth of 45.83 percent. In the utility vehicles (UV) segment, M&M sold 32,226 vehicles in October 2022. The PV segment (which includes UVs, cars and vans) saw sale of 32,298 units in October 2022, up 60 percent year-on-year (YoY) from 20,130 units sold in October 2021.

Veejay Nakra, President, Automotive Division, M&M Ltd, said, “Our sales volume continued to grow in October on the back of strong festival season demand. We sold 32,226 SUVs in October, registering a growth of 61 percent, fuelled by robust demand across our portfolio. Our commercial vehicles (CV) also registered strong growth for the month.”

Hyundai Motor India Limited’s (HMIL) domestic sales for October 2022 stood at 48,001 units, enabling it to register a YoY growth of 29 per cent last month. In October 2021, Hyundai sold 37,021 units in the domestic market. Its total cumulative sales in October 2022 saw YoY growth of 31 per cent at 58,006 units, vis-à-vis 43,556 units during the same time last year.

Commenting on the October 2022 sales, Tarun Garg, Director (Sales, Marketing & Service), HMIL, said, “With the ever-improving semi-conductor situation, we were able to meet the demand of our beloved customers and deliver their favourite Hyundai cars during the festival season in October.”

At Tata Motors, domestic sales of PVs in October 2022 have been recorded at 45,217 units, up 33 percent from October 2021, when it sold 33,925 units. Its electric vehicle (EV) sales, including international business, stood at 4,277 units, against 1,660 units in the same month a year ago.

Kia India announced that it had recorded sales of 23,323 units in October 2022. The company has notched up a growth of 43 percent over the same period last year.

Hardeep Singh Brar, Vice President and Head of Sales & Marketing, Kia India, said, “The demand that all Kia products have managed to generate in the Indian market signifies exciting times for the brand. It tells us that our product strategy was right on point since the very beginning.”