Industry estimates that as many as 391,472 passenger vehicles were dispatched to dealers last month, which is an increase of 16.3% over 336,679 units sold in the corresponding period of the last financial year.
This is the tenth straight month that monthly sales of passenger vehicles have breached the best-ever mark this year, driven by demand for sports utility vehicles. SUVs comprised half of all passenger vehicles sold in the country in October. Automakers in India mostly report wholesale volumes and not retail sales to customers.
Industry sales were buoyed by market leader Maruti Suzuki which posted a growth of 20% to report its best-ever monthly sales at 168,047 units. Shashank Srivastava, senior executive officer (marketing and sales), MSIL said the festive season has gone well so far helping the company increase its market share by 1.3% to 43% in October.
“January onwards, every month has been a best-ever month for the industry, which is a very positive sign. With the semi-conductor crisis fading, automakers have been able to increase production which helped the industry report its highest-ever sales for any month in October. Retails too have been good, which have encouraged dealers to build up stocks for the upcoming festivals of Dhanteras, Diwali and Bhai Dooj later this month,” he said.
Korean rival Hyundai Motor India sold 55,128 units last month, which is an increase of 14.8% over 48,001 units sold in the year-ago period. Tarun Garg, Chief Operating Officer (COO), HMIL said, “Bookings inflow remain healthy. Despite the geopolitical uncertainties, demand momentum has remained strong which shows the resilience of the domestic market.”
At homegrown auto major Tata Motors volumes went up by 7% to 48,337 units last month. Meanwhile, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) registered best-ever SUV sales for the third consecutive month selling 43,708 units in October. Veejay Nakra, President (automotive division), M&M, said, while the company expects to continue its growth moment on back
of strong festive demand, it will keep “a close watch of select supply related challenges.”
At Japanese auto major Toyota – which operates in a joint-venture with the Kirloskar Group (TKM) – sales went up by a whopping 56% to 20,542 units last month. Atul Sood, Vice President (sales and strategic marketing) at Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), said, “This year, the offtake of festive season has been very strong for both TKM and well as the industry. For us sustained growth has been coming from across every segment where Toyota has its presence. Given strong
market sentiments around Diwali, we remain confident of a very buoyant performance in the coming months as well.”
While the growth rate may taper off on a high base post the festive season, industry executives said, passenger vehicle sales should cross the 4 million mark for the first time by the close of the fiscal year.
In the commercial vehicle segment, market leader Tata Motors saw sales increase by 4% to 32,488 units in October. Chennai-based Ashok Leyland said its domestic sales went up by 14% to 15,759 units in the monthunder consideration.