Domestic passenger vehicle (PV) wholesale numbers in India increased by a marginal 3.7 per cent to 340,784 units in June 2024, compared to 328,710 units during the same month last year, owing to new launches.
Though hit by the election season and heat wave across the country, the calendar year 2024 witnessed a rise of 7.6 per cent in PV sales to 2.168 million units from January to June, compared to 2.015 million units during the same period in 2023. “Compared to June 2023, this year saw a growth of only 12,000 vehicles. This increase has come from the launch of new models, which has come from our competition,” said Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), told reporters at a press conference. He added that during the current financial year, passenger vehicle sales are expected to see muted growth due to a higher base.
MSIL’s domestic PV wholesales during the month increased by 3 per cent year-on-year to 137,160 units in June, compared to 133,027 units during the same month in 2023. The market leader saw its sales increasing by 1.2 per cent to 419,114 during the April to June quarter of the financial year. MSIL said that the company is seeing an average stock of 37-38 days with dealers at present. MSIL also posted its highest-ever exports of 31,033 units, up 57 per cent versus 19,770 units in June 2023.
During the same period, IPO-bound Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL), registered total sales of 64,803 units (domestic 50,103 units and exports 14,700 units) in June 2024, a drop of 1.22 per cent compared to 65,601 units in June 2023. HMIL also completed H1 2024, with total sales of 385,772 units, achieving a growth of 5.68 per cent year-on-year versus 365,030 units last year. “We closed H1 of calendar year 2024 with an overall sales growth of 5.68 per cent year-on-year. SUVs have contributed strongly, accounting for 66 per cent of our domestic sales. The new Hyundai CRETA has been a key driver for domestic H1 sales with 91,348 units sold, a growth of 11 per cent over the same period last year,” said Tarun Garg, COO, Hyundai Motor India.
On the other hand, Tata Motors passenger vehicle numbers dipped 8 per cent to 43,624 units in June. Shailesh Chandra, managing director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd. said, “In Q1 FY25, after a boost in demand in the first half of April due to festivities in some parts of the country, the passenger vehicle industry saw a decline in retails (registrations) in the months of May and June, influenced by the general elections and heat waves across the country. Tata Motors wholesales of 138,682 cars and SUVs in Q1 FY25 remained flat compared to Q1 FY24, as we readjusted our wholesales in line with retails to keep channel inventory under control.”
“Going forward, we foresee a recovery of demand, as enquiries have remained strong despite low retails in the past two months. This strong enquiry pipeline, in addition to the onset of the festive season from August, augurs well for the industry. Tata Motors is fully geared up to leverage this growth opportunity on the back of strong demand for its SUV portfolio, especially Punch and Nexon, as well as new launches in the coming months,” Chandra added.
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M) also announced that its passenger vehicle sales for the month of June 2024 stood at 40,022 units, up 23 per cent compared to 32,588 units in June 2023. Its overall vehicle sales for June were seen at 69,397 vehicles, posting a growth of 11 per cent, including exports. The domestic sales for commercial vehicles stood at 20,594. “We sold a total of 40,022 SUVs in June, a growth of 23 per cent and 69,397 total vehicles, an 11 per cent growth over last year. June has been a momentous month, as we rolled out the 200,000th XUV700 from our facility. We also celebrated 25 years of Bolero Pik-Ups, a category creator and a market leader in the LCV segment,” said Veejay Nakra, president, automotive division, M&M Ltd.
First Published: Jul 01 2024 | 6:12 PM IST