PV sales continue on upward trajectory in February

As per industry observers, this was the highest auto wholesales for February in any year so far. (Representation image credit: Pixabay)

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Passenger Vehicle (PV) sales continued to move northwards for the second month in a row this year as carmakers have dispatched nearly 373,177 units to their dealers, as per industry data.

As per industry observers, this was the highest auto wholesales for February in any year so far. Sustained demand for Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs), buoyant consumer sentiments, easier availability of waitlisted models, coupled with new rollouts is driving up volumes by nearly 11.3 percent year-on-year, as per industry estimates.

The total number of car wholesales during last year stood at 335,324 units.

During the first 11 months of this fiscal (April 2023- February 2024), passenger carmakers sold 38,59,000 units of sedans, utility vehicles (UVs) and hatchbacks, registering an 8.6 percent increase from 33,53,000 units during the corresponding period last year.

PV market leader Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) reported a 15 percent increase in total wholesales at 1,97,471 units in February vis-à-vis 1,72,321 units in the same month last year. The company’s domestic PV sales grew nine percent at 1,60,271 units as against 147,467 units in the month a year ago.

Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer,  Marketing and Sales, Maruti Suzuki, stated that the “key growth drivers” behind robust sales in February remain the same.

According to him, “One of the biggest factors is the positive economic growth, which has a high correlation with the growth in the PV segment. We have found that trend statistically over the years. Secondly, there seems to be a better supply situation as well. So a lot of pent-up demand that we saw in the huge pending bookings seems to have moderated. Thirdly, the number of models which are present in the SUV space, which seems to be the consumer preference. All OEMs are now offering vehicles in that segment.”

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) recorded domestic sales of 50,201 units in February 2024, achieving a 6.8 percent growth over the same month last year.

Tarun Garg, COO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. said, “The newly launched Hyundai Creta leads the charge, by clocking a sale of 15,276 units in February,  which incidentally is the highest ever monthly sales recorded by this model since its inception in India more than 8 years back in 2015.”

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) revealed that it sold sold 42,401 units of UVs in the domestic market in February, registering a 40 percent YOY growth.

According to Veejay Nakra, President, Automotive Division, M&M Ltd., “In our endeavour to make some of our SUVs available faster to consumers, we launched the Scorpio N Z8S variant and the Thar Earth edition this month.”

Tata Motors’ total PV sales in the domestic market, including Electric Vehicles (EVs), saw a jump of 20 percent at 51,267 units, vis-a-vis 42, 862 units in same month last year. Total electric PV sales were at 6,923 units last month as against 5,318 units in February 2023, said Tata Motors.

MG Motor India reported an 8 percent increase in retail sales at 4,532 units in February as compared to the same month last year. The British carmaker sold 4,193 units in February 2023.

“Electric vehicles continue to contribute a significant share of the carmaker's overall vehicle sales, accounting for around 33 percent of the total units sold in February 2024. The company is gearing up to work on potential logistics issues due to disruption in global shipping as a consequence of various international events,” the company said in a statement.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) revealed that its total dispatches to dealers increased by 61 percent last month to 25,220 units as compared with 15,685 units in February 2023. The Indian arm of Japanese carmaker revealed that its domestic sales stood at 23,300 units, exports were at 1,920 units in the month.

"We continue to witness rising demand coupled with good customer enquiries from across the regions. Notably, the SUV and MUV models are at the forefront of this demand surge," Toyota Kirloskar Motor Vice President (Sales-Service-Used Car Business) Sabari Manohar stated in a press release.

As per brokerage firm Nomura, while PV wholesales were expected to grow by 10 percent, retail sales were projected to go up by around 8 percent YOY in February.  Its survey indicated that the waiting periods for popular models have largely remained stable and have come down in some cases.