Passenger vehicle (PV) wholesales (dispatches to dealers) witnessed a mixed trend in March in the domestic market with both market leaders Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) and Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) reporting a decline in numbers on a yearly basis.
The companies said the trend would continue because of the high base last year, and macroeconomic factors such as tepid consumption growth, inflation, infrastructure spending and geopolitical headwinds.
With sports utility vehicles (SUVs) continuing to dominate in both urban and rural markets, limited choice would also degrade the market for other forms of vehicles, industry veterans said.
“The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has forecast PV industry growth between 1 and 2 per cent because fundamentally, I think, we are not expecting very high growth in the current year. In March, our retail numbers are more than the wholesale numbers,” Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, MSIL, told reporters on a call.
Banerjee also said the company would soon start following the Vahan data (under the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways) to share the actual sales numbers (retail numbers) because that gives the actual picture of the industry.
MSIL also recorded the highest-ever exports in FY25 with more than three-lakh units, the company said.
“During the year, we commenced exports of the Fronx and 5-door Jimny to Japan, and both models have received an overwhelming response. This is a testament to India’s growing stature as a global manufacturing hub,” Hisashi Takeuchi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, MSIL, said.
In terms of PV industry volumes, domestic wholesales stood at around 3.8-3.9 lakh for March and at around 43-lakh unit mark for FY25.
Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility said, “overall demand growth will be shaped by macroeconomic factors such as consumption growth, inflation, infrastructure spending and global geopolitics.”
Having said that, he also noted that the industry momentum is expected to be driven by continued innovation in line with evolving customer preferences.
Industry veterans said there were demand spikes in the post-Covid period over the last two years, which is now softening and therefore, a high base year effect would be seen in the coming months.
However, there are companies like Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) which are driving sales with new launches in both internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric vehicles and recorded highest-ever growth in its history.
“The year ended on a positive note with us selling over five-lakh SUVs in the domestic market for the first time ever,” Veejay Nakra, President, Automotive Division, M&M, said.
