SUVs drive PV sales to record 4.1 mn in 2023

NEW DELHI: Passenger vehicle sales in India touched a record high of 41.08 lakh units in 2023, growing by 8.3 per cent over the previous year by SUVs, which accounted for almost half of the total despatches from manufacturers to dealers.

The record sales have been achieved despite an increase in the average price of vehicles to Rs 11.5 lakh last year as compared to Rs 10.58 lakh in 2022.

Market leader Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor India, Tata Motors and Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported their best-ever annual sales in 2023.

“If you look at January to December 2023, wholesales crossed 41.08 lakh. This is the first time the industry has ever crossed the 4 million mark. That, I think is a huge milestone in the history of the Indian passenger vehicles (PV) industry,” Maruti Suzuki India Senior Executive Officer (Marketing and Sales) Shashank Srivastava told reporters in a call.

“Most of the growth in the industry was largely driven by SUVs, which grew by 26 per cent,” Srivastava said.

Maruti Suzuki India crossed the annual sales milestone of 20 lakh units in calendar year 2023, which includes its highest ever calendar year exports of 2,69,046 units.

Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) reported a 9 per cent year-on-year increase in total sales at 7,65,786 units in 2023, on the back of record annual domestic sales. The company had sold a total of 7,00,811 units in 2022.

The company achieved its highest-ever domestic sales in a calendar year, crossing the six lakh sales milestone in 2023 as it sold 6,02,111 units, up 9 per cent over previous year’s 5,52,511 units, , Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) said.

HMIL COO Tarun Garg said the company has not just kept pace but surpassed the estimated industry growth of around 8.2 per cent.

“Also in 2023, we proactively expanded our annual production capacity by 50,000 units to meet the increasing demand from our customers,” he added Homegrown automaker Tata Motors also said it clocked its best sales in a calendar year.

“For Tata Motors, CY23 was the third consecutive year of posting highest ever sales of around 5.53 lakh units led by its commanding position in the compact SUV segment and strong growth in hatches, despite the hatch segment de-growing at an industry level,” Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility MD Shailesh Chandra said.

On the industry crossing the significant 4 million mark, he said it has been “supported by a strong supply situation, new nameplates launched in the SUV segment, and a robust demand during the longer festive period”. Another automaker, Toyota Kirloskar Motor also reported its best ever annual sales with a 46 per growth in wholesales at 2,33,346 units in 2023. The company’s wholesales stood at 1,60,364 units a year ago.

“(The) growth of 46 per cent as compared to last CY (calendar year) came from across the product portfolio. The consistent month-on-month performance, coupled with a year-round upward trend, indicates a growing customer interest in all our line-up of cars,” TKM Vice President of Sales and Strategic Marketing Atul Sood said.

Similarly, MG Motor India reported an 18 pc growth in total retail sales at 56,902 units in 2023 against the previous year. It had around 25 per cent of its total sales coming from electric vehicle models and flagship EV, ZS and the Comet have clocked around 20,000 units till date.

Mahindra & Mahindra said its passenger vehicles sales in December 2023 stood at 35,174 units, as against 28,445 units in December 2022, up 24 per cent.

“We continued to face some supply challenges on select parts. We are working closely with our suppliers to mitigate these challenges going forward,” M&M president, Automotive Division Veejay Nakra said.