Maruti, Hyundai, TaMo see sales uptick

NEW DELHI: Leading automakers Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors (TaMo) on Friday reported robust sales for February as demand for sports utility vehicles continued to remain strong.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Honda Cars also witnessed higher vehicle dispatches to dealers last month.

February turned out to be the third-best month for sales for the industry ever. The highest-ever passenger vehicle wholesales in a month was reported in January this year with dispatch of 3,94,500 units. It was followed by October 2023, with wholesales of 3,91,811 units. Maruti Suzuki India said its total domestic passenger vehicle sales grew 9 per cent to 1,60,271 units in February against 1,47,467 units in the month a year ago.

Sales of utility vehicles, including Brezza, Ertiga, Grand Vitara, and XL6, rose 82 per cent to 61,234 units last month compared to 33,550 units in February 2023. However, dispatches of mini segment cars, comprising Alto and S-Presso declined to 14,782 units against 21,875 units in February 2023.

Similarly, sales of compact cars, including Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift, Tour S, and WagonR, also declined by 10 per cent to 71,627 units compared to 79,898 units in the year-ago month. In a virtual press conference, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Senior Executive Officer (Marketing and Sales) Shashank Srivastava said the passenger vehicle industry saw the best-ever monthly sales performance for February.

“The streak of best-ever monthly sales also continued for the 14th straight month,” he noted. The auto major exceeded the 16 lakh sales mark during the current fiscal year in February.

Last month, Tata Motors took over the second spot in terms of passenger vehicle sales with a dispatch of 51,321 units, a growth of 19 per cent year-on-year compared to February 2023.

Hyundai Motor India said its domestic wholesales grew 7 per cent to 50,201 units last month from 47,001 units in the year-ago period. Hyundai Motor India COO Tarun Garg told reporters that the company’s SUV sales continue to do well in the domestic market. SUVs now accounted for 67 per cent of the company’s overall sales in February. Garg also noted that rural sales now account for 20 per cent of its overall dispatches in the market.

Mahindra & Mahindra said its passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market rose 40 per cent to 42,401 units last month against 30,358 in February last year. MG Motor India said its retail sales grew an 8 per cent increase in retail sales at 4,532 units in February against the same month last year.

In the two-wheeler space, Hero MotoCorp said its wholesales grew 19 per cent to 4,68,410 units compared to 3,94,460 units in the year-ago period. TVS Motor Company said its wholesales rose 33 per cent year-on-year to 3,68,424 units in February. Royal Enfield reported a 6 per cent increase in wholesales to 75,935 units in February.