Domestic sales of passenger cars went up to 1.42 lakh units in September this year, up from 64,235 units sold in the same period last year. Utility vehicles, on the other hand, reported domestic sales of 1.51 lakh units this month versus 87,862 in September 2021, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data. Overall domestic sales stood at 20.93 lakh units in September 2022 versus 17.27 lakh in the same period last year.
On a quarterly basis, overall passenger vehicle sales went up from 7.41 lakh units in July-September 2021 to 10.26 lakh units in the same period this year. Passenger car sales went up from 3.43 lakh units to 4.68 lakh units quarter-on-quarter whereas utility vehicles sales jumped from 3.67 lakh units to 5.17 lakh units in the same period.
Maruti Suzuki has emerged as the segment leader with sales of 1.48 lakh units in September and 7.94 lakh units in Q2FY2023. MSI is followed by automakers like Hyundai Motor India, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Kia Motors India and Toyota Kirloskar Motor India.
Moving on from the passenger cars segment, the three-wheeler segment saw an on-year uptick in overall sales from 29,191 units sold in September last year to 50,626 units sold this year. Two-wheeler segment, on the other hand, reported an annual surge in overall sales from 15.37 lakh units in September 2021 to 17.35 lakh units in the same period in 2022.
Three-wheeler and two-wheeler segments reported sales of 1.20 lakh units and 46.73 lakh units in Q2FY23. These figures stood at 70,929 units in the three-wheeler segment and 41.36 lakh units in the two-wheeler segment. Overall vehicle sales stood at 60.52 lakh units in Q2FY23.
Commenting on the rise in passenger vehicle sales, SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon underscored, “September month has been generally good for industry, as the Passenger Vehicle segment has recorded the highest ever sales in H1 and the commercial vehicle segment has started showing trends of better market demand. Off-take of entry level two-wheelers and entry level passenger vehicles have been of concern especially as the rural demand has not picked up.”
He added that despite some hiccups, strong demand for utility vehicles has been reported both on a monthly as well as quarterly basis. Menon attributed these trends to moderation in commodity prices after the government's intervention.
SIAM President Vinod Aggarwal said that he has some reservations when it comes to sales of entry-level passenger cars and two-wheelers due to a hike in prices of CNG fuel, higher repo rates and Russia-Ukraine war could affect auto sales negatively.. Aggarwal added he is hopeful that the auto sector will do well in the coming days due to festivals like Dussehra and Diwali.