PV sales grow in double-digits amid sustained consumer demand, improved supplies

Industry estimates as many as 335,269 cars, sedans and utility vehicles were sold in the local market last month, which is an increase of 10.6% over 303, 213 units sold in the same period last year. This is the highest sales volume recorded in the industry for the month of February.

Automakers in India largely report wholesale dispatches from factories to dealerships and not retail sales to customers.

Industry growth was buoyed by market leader Maruti Suzuki, which sold 147,467 units last month. This is an increase of 10% over 133,948 vehicles sold in the same period last year. The shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production of vehicles, mainly in domestic models. The company said it took all possible measures to minimise the impact.

“This was the best-ever February in terms of wholesale volumes. Demand is good. Our enquiries grew by 12% during the month”, said Shashank Srivastava, senior executive director (marketing and sales) at Maruti Suzuki.

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Tarun Garg, Chief Operating Officer, Hyundai Motor India concurred, “The overall sales numbers are showing a positive trend across segments.” The Korean auto major – which reported a growth of around 7% to sell 47,001 units last month – saw strong traction for its newly launched models EV IONIQ5, SUV Tucson, small car Grand i10 NIOS and sedan Aura.

Going ahead, however, Srivastava cautioned there could be some impact on consumer demand on account of the recent hikes in retail lending rates effected by banks and financial institutions. Srivastava said, “Repo rates have been raised by 250 basis points since May last year. Of this, banks have passed on 180-225 basis points.”

For now though, Maruti Suzuki already has pending orders for 369,000 vehicles. New launches Brezza and Grand Vitara continue to see strong traction with combined order backlog of 98,500 units.

At homegrown auto major Tata Motors monthly sales went up by 7% to 42,862 units in February. Rival Mahindra grew volumes by 10% to 30,358 units.

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Veejay Nakra, president (automotive division), M&M, “Our recent launches Thar RWD and XUV400 have received a very positive response and we see good demand across our portfolio as well. We are monitoring and taking appropriate steps on the supply chain scenario of semi-conductors, which continue to be dynamic”.

In the meantime, Kia India outperformed the market, grew volumes by 36% to sell 24,600 units in the month under review. Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) too nearly doubled sales to 15,338 units, albeit on a low base.

Atul Sood, vice-president (sales and strategic marketing) said, “We are witnessing a continued interest from customers across our product portfolio, resulting in a very healthy growth in the month of February 2023. Leading this growth are the Urban Cruiser Hyryder and All New Innova Hycross, as we strive to work with our partners to meet the demand.” The company recently opened bookings for the Toyota Hilux and is receiving good orders from across the country.

Sales of two-wheelers remained subdued in the month under consideration. Chennai-based TVS Motor Company was among the few to buck the trend and post a 28% growth in sales at 221,402 units in February.

In the commercial vehicle segment, market leader Tata Motors reported a decline of 3% to sell 36,565 units in February. VE CV fared better and grew volumes by over a third to 6,988 units last month.

Mahindra Tractors sold 24,619 tractors in the domestic market during February 2023, a growth of 30% over last year. Hemant Sikka, President (Farm Equipment Sector), Mahindra & Mahindra is optimistic on the outlook, “Record Rabi crop acreage for wheat and oilseeds, high crop prices and better terms of trade for farmers is leading to positive sentiments in the rural markets. Expected higher Rabi output will improve liquidity in the hands of the farmers, supporting tractor demand. Water reservoir levels continue to remain high.”