In September, domestic car sales reached a new high of 363,733 units, breaking the previous high of 360,897 units set in August.
Automobile sales are still moving quickly, as evidenced by the industry’s best-ever monthly wholesale despatches in the domestic market in September. This was made possible by strong demand during the holiday season, increased production due to better semiconductor availability, and the rapidly expanding popularity of sport utility vehicles (SUVs).
In September, the number of passenger vehicles (PVs) sold reached a record high of 363,733 units, breaking the previous high of 360,897 units set in August. In fact, since January, the sector has consistently reported record car sales.
The industry’s quarterly PV sales reached 1,076,983 units in Q2 FY24, breaking the previous record of 1,026,000 units set in Q2 FY23. However, the records don’t stop here!
At 2,072,957 units in H1 FY24, the half-yearly PV volume reached a milestone of 2 million units for the first time ever.
Additionally, between January and September, car sales surpassed the 3 million unit mark.
Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer for Marketing and Sales at Maruti Suzuki India, claims that the industry is on track to surpass the 4 million unit domestic volume milestone for both the calendar year (CY) 2023 and the financial year (FY) 2023–24.
According to Srivastava, the PV volume in the industry is anticipated to be 1,000,000 units during the 87-day holiday period (August 17–November 14), of which 500,000 units are projected to be SUVs.
While Hyundai Motor India sent 54,241 units to the dealerships in September, Maruti Suzuki India sold 150,812 PVs on the domestic market. Tata Motors’ PV volume totaled 44,809 units.
For the third straight month, Mahindra & Mahindra posted its highest-ever sales in the PV market, totaling 41,267 vehicles in September. Toyota Kirloskar Motor continued its remarkable run as well, selling 22,168 units in one month.
Several business analysts told India Today that holidays like Ganesh Chaturthi and Janmashtami contributed to the record-breaking car sales in September. Additionally, they said that the reduction in the shortage of semiconductors has enabled original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to increase production, leading to increased despatches.
As new vehicles entered the market, the SUV segment’s share of total PV volume surpassed 50% in September. In the month, it was a healthy 52%.
Except for the SUV, all market segments have shrunk this year, according to Maruti’s Srivastava. He continued, “The SUV growth is leading the industry growth.”