Festive demand drives SUV sales to record high in October

Pune: Sales of passenger vehicles in India rose in double-digits to record levels last month with car makers ramping up dispatches from factory gates to dealerships to meet robust demand during this festive season.

Industry estimates indicated a 16 per cent rise in passenger vehicles dispatched to dealers at 3,91,472 units in October, up from 3,36,679 units last year.

This is the 10th straight month of record-breaking sales, primarily driven by SUV demand, which constituted half of all passenger vehicle sales in October.

Leading the pack Maruti Suzuki, India’s biggest car maker, led the growth chart, recording 20 per cent year-on-year growth, followed by rival Hyundai at 14.84 cent, Tata Motors at 7 per cent, and Mahindra at 36 per cent, among others.  

Domestic sales at Maruti surged to 1,68,047 units last month, up from 1,40,337 units sold in October last year.

Similarly, Hyundai Motor, India’s second largest car maker, saw its sales growing by 14.84 per cent year-on-year at 55,128 units last month. “The standardization of 6 airbags across all Hyundai models and variants has been extremely well received by our customers,” said Tarun Garg, COO at Hyundai Motor India.

Domestic sales at Tata Motors, India’s biggest automaker by revenues, also increased 7 per cent year-on-year at 48,637 units, including electric vehicles, last month.

Wholesales dispatches of the Mahindra utility vehicles soared 35 per cent year-on-year to 43,708 units, up from 32,298 units sold in the year-ago period.

Sales at Kia also increased by 4.41 per cent year-on-year last month at 24,351 units, its 4th highest-ever monthly sales.

Sales at Toyota Kirloskar Motor rose 66 per cent year-on-year last month at 21,879 units on sustained demands for its models. “This year, the offtake of the festive season has been very strong for both TKM and the industry, mainly driven by the festive season push,” pointed out Atul Sood, Vice President of Sales, and Strategic Marketing at Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

Sales of Honda Cars stood at 9,400 units last month compared with 9,543 units sold last year. “There is a strong demand during the festival period with incredible response for our new model Honda Elevate,” said Yuichi Murata, Director, Marketing and Sales, Honda Cars India.

Retail sales at British brand MG Motor India also jumped 17 per cent year-on-year at 5,108 units last month, 25 per cent of which were electric cars.