Automakers cheer as demand drives domestic dispatches in May

NEW DELHI: Leading carmakers Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors reported robust dispatches to dealers in May on the back of strong demand for passenger vehicles across regions, even as the global semiconductor shortage continued to impact production.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Kia India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Honda Cars and Skoda also witnessed strong demand for their models last month.

The month of May also witnessed Tata Motors race ahead of Hyundai in terms of domestic wholesales. The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said its domestic sales stood at 1,34,222 units in May. The company had dispatched just 35,293 units in May 2021 amid the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

The period saw massive disruptions which impacted both production and sale of cars. “The basic parameters of demand in terms of enquiries, bookings remain robust. However, supply chain issues remain and there is no clear visibility by when things will normalise,” said MSI Senior ED (Marketing and Sales) Shashank Srivastava.

Elaborating on the market scenario, he noted that the passenger vehicle industry, which had shrunk to 1.03 lakh units last May, has rebounded to 2.94 lakh units in May this year. “The April-May numbers are at about 5.88 lakh unit mark for the industry as compared with 3.9 lakh units last year...first quarter should touch 9 lakh units which is a good indication for the industry,” Srivastava stated. Last month, sales of the company’s mini cars, comprising Alto and S-Presso, jumped to 17,408 units, compared to 4,760 in May 2021. Taking the second spot in terms of domestic dispatches last month, Tata Motors reported passenger vehicle wholesales of 43,341 units.

This is the company’s highest-ever monthly sales since inception - PV and EV domestic combined - led by robust dispatch of Nexon, Harrier and Safari. The automajor also reported the highest-ever dispatches of electric vehicles (EVs) last month at 3,454 units, up from 476 units in the same period last year.

Hyundai Motor India said its domestic wholesales stood at 42,293 units in May 2022.

Both company plants in Chennai observed the scheduled biannual maintenance shutdown, leading to no production for six days in the month (May 16-21), the automaker noted. This reduced the vehicle availability in the month, thus affecting May sales numbers (both domestic as well as exports), it added.

“Starting June 2022, production will be enhanced to cater to the high demand for domestic and export markets ensuring timely deliveries of long waiting customers,” the company stated.

Mahindra & Mahindra said its domestic passenger vehicle sales stood at 26,904 units last month. “With sales of 26,632 SUVs in May, we continued the growth momentum with all our brands performing well, including XUV700 and Thar,” M&M President (Automotive Division) Veejay Nakra said.

Kia India reported sales of 18,718 units in May. It had dispatched 11,050 units to dealers amid the second wave of COVID-19 in May 2021.

In the two-wheeler segment, Bajaj Auto reported total domestic sales of 1,12,308 units. It had dispatched 60,830 units in May 2021.

Similarly, TVS Motor Company said its domestic two-wheeler sales stood at 1,91,482 units last month, compared to 52,084 units in May 2021. The semiconductor shortage has impacted the production and sales of premium two-wheelers, the company said.

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