Driven by demand for SUVs, India’s top automakers celebrated a stellar Diwali at both the retail and wholesale levels in another year of limited consumer purchasing. Even in the two-wheeler sector, preliminary wholesale trade figures indicate growth.
Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest mass vehicle maker, posted record retail sales of 2,02,402 units in October, up 22.4 per cent year-on-year, while maintaining domestic bulk shipments in view of rising levels of relatively high inventories decreased. The company estimated 20 per cent growth in retail sales in the automobile manufacturing industry in October on the back of festival season demand.
Overall, the passenger vehicle sector recorded a marginal growth of 1.8 per cent over last year, with a total of 4,01,447 units, as many automakers deliberately reduced production to keep inventory under control . Maruti’s own wholesale shipments decreased 5 per cent to 1,59,591 units, while Tata Motors’ shipments to dealerships decreased 0.4 per cent to 48,131 units.
The country’s second-largest automakers Hyundai Motor India and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) reported strong monthly wholesale shipments of SUVs in October. Maruti also recorded a 19.4 per cent growth in SUV wholesale.
M&M, whose passenger vehicle portfolio consists entirely of SUVs, shipped 54,504 units to the domestic market in October, a growth of 25 per cent over last year, and this was mainly due to its latest Thar ROXX launch. The company, which also produces commercial vehicles, shipped a record 96,648 units in total, a year-on-year growth of 20 percent. Hyundai, which recently launched India’s largest public issue worth Rs 27,870 crore, shipped a total of 55,568 units to dealers in October, slightly higher than last year’s 55,128 units.
However, Hyundai recorded its highest monthly SUV sales figure at 37,902 units.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) witnessed a growth of 41 per cent (including exports), driven by strong demand for sports utility vehicles and multi-purpose vehicles.
Giving details on the strategic reduction in shipments sent to dealerships, Partho Banerjee, senior executive director, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki, said, “The wholesale sales figures are almost the same compared to last year. “We are adjusting our production and focusing on retail… We have made approximately 40,000 network improvements to maintain healthy retail stock.”
The company’s best-selling model at retail was the Brezza with 24,237 units sold, followed by the new Swift (22,303 units), Wagon R (21,114 units) and Ertiga (19,442 units). Your inventory has reached one month’s level.
During April-October, the company saw 2.1 percent growth in retail sales figures. Its mini-segment cars, which include the Alto and S-Presso, are still struggling.
Hyundai Motor India also confirmed the healthy sales trend during the festival season. “We saw strong demand for our SUV portfolio during the festive season, leading to our highest monthly SUV sales figure of 37,902 units, with Hyundai CRETA having the highest monthly domestic sales of 17,497 units. “SUVs are an important part of our range, accounting for 68.2 per cent of our total monthly sales as of October 2024, with equal penetration in urban and rural markets,” said Tarun Garg, Wholetime Director and Chief Marketing Officer. operations of Hyundai Motor India. . Saying.
