Auto industry witness best-ever November sales; Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata gain big

Automakers reported their best-ever November sales as personal transportation demand remained high even after the very lucrative holiday season had passed, paving the way for record sales in 2022. The leading automakers Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai, Tata Motors, and Mahindra all had double-digit increases in shipments to dealers in November, making it the strongest November ever for the passenger vehicle industry.

Last month, sales were also excellent for MG Motor, Honda Cars, Skoda, and Kia India. However, compared to November 2021, Nissan and Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported a reduction in domestic wholesales.

The leading automaker in the country, Maruti Suzuki India, said that its domestic wholesales increased 18% to 1,39,306 units from 1,17,791 units in November 2021. Sales of small cars, including the Alto and S-Presso, jumped from 17,473 units in the same month last year to 18,251 units this month.

According to Suzuki India, the company’s utility vehicle sales, which include the Brezza, Ertiga, and Grand Vitara, increased to 32,563 units in July from 24,574 in the same month last year. Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer (Marketing & Sales) of Maruti Suzuki India, commented on the sales, stating that the industry’s wholesales increased by 31% to 3,22,860 units last month from 2,45,636 units in November of last year.

On the other hand, Competitor Hyundai Motor India reported that wholesale sales last month increased by 30% to 48,003 units from 37,001 units in November of last year.

Tarun Garg, Director (Sales, Marketing & Service) at Hyundai Motor India, stated that the business is on track to record its highest-ever domestic sales in 2022. In comparison to the same month last year, Tata Motors reported a 55 percent rise in overall passenger car dispatches, reaching 46,037 units. Similar to this, Mahindra & Mahindra reported 30,392 units in domestic passenger vehicle sales, a 56 percent increase from the previous month.

In November of this year, Kia India reported an increase in total sales of 69 percent to 24,025 units. According to Kia India Vice President and Head of Sales & Marketing Hardeep Singh Brar, the company has been able to post healthy sales figures throughout this year as a result of improved customer sentiment and pent-up demand.

Whereas, in comparison to the prior month, Honda Cars reported a 29 percent increase in wholesales to 7,051 units.

However, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) announce a 10% decline in wholesales to 11,765 units. TKM has stopped taking reservations for the diesel version of the Innova and has discontinued the small SUV Urban Cruiser, which had an effect on its deliveries last month as a whole. Nissan also saw a decline in domestic sales, going from 2,651 units in November 2021 to 2,400 units last month.

On the contrary side, Skoda Auto India reported sales of 4,433 units for November 2022 that were up by a factor of two year over year. Similar to this, MG Motor India reported a 64 percent yearly increase in retail sales in November, reaching 4,079 units. At 1,52,716 units, the two-wheeler market saw a 4 percent decline in the whole domestic market. According to TVS Motor Company, domestic two-wheeler sales increased by 9% last month to 1,91,730 units from 1,75,940 units the year before.