March auto sales: Passenger vehicle sales rise 14% YoY due to festive season, says FADA

Passenger vehicle retail sales: The passenger vehicles segment in India grew 14 per cent year-on-year (YoY) as all categories saw double-digit growth. According to the latest data shared by the Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association (FADA), 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers, passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles grew by 12 per cent, 69 per cent, 14 per cent, and 10 per cent, respectively. Only tractors grew 4 per cent.

Total registrations across segments rose 13.89 per cent year-on-year to 20,41,847 units in March 2023, compared to 17,92,802 vehicles in March 2022. 

The growth was mainly on the back of the festive season and the transition to OBD2A norms, which played a crucial role in sustaining the sales momentum, said FADA. 

FADA President Manish Raj Singhania said: “March 2023 continued to witness a double digit growth of 14 per cent YoY. All categories except tractors witnessed double digit growth. Segment-wise, 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers, passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles, saw a growth of 12 per cent, 69 per cent, 14 per cent, and 10 per cent, respectively. Tractors, however, only grew by 4 per cent."

"The Commercial Vehicle category has also shown robust growth by growing 10 per cent YoY. Passenger vehicle demand was also healthy during the month Apart from the infra spending by Central Government, OBD Stage 2A price hike coupled with discount offers from OEMs witnessed pre-buying,” Singhania added. 

Leading carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Limited sold a total of 1,37,201 units in March 2023, which was marginally up from 1,18,446 units in 2022.  

Segment-wise growth

The two-wheeler category witnessed a growth of 12 per cent YoY, but it was down by -9 per cent from its pre-covid levels, as per FADA data.

Rural India, which still has not performed after the covid period, continues to remain under inflationary pressure.

The three-wheeler segment achieved record-high retail sales by growing 69 per cent and surpassing the previous high figures of March 2020, which was a month when the industry made the transition from BS-4 to BS-6.

Passenger vehicle sales

During the period, Maruti Suzuki sold a total of 1,37,201 units. Its market share was 40.92 per cent in March 2023 compared to 40.42 per cent. Its closest competitor was Tata Motors, which sold 46,847 units in the same month. Hyundai Motor sold 45,703 in March. This was followed by Mahindra & Mahindra with 32,196 units, and Kia Motors with 21,023 units.

PV OEM	March 2023	Market share	March 2022	Market share
MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LTD	1,37,201	40.92%	1,18,446	40.42%
TATA MOTORS LTD	46,847	13.97%	36,939	12.61%
HYUNDAI MOTOR INDIA LTD	45,703	13.63%	43,766	14.94%
MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA LIMITED	32,196	9.60%	24,014	8.20%
KIA MOTORS INDIA PVT LTD	21,023	6.27%	17,426	5.95%

FY23 at a glance

According to the FADA report, retail sales of passenger vehicles reached a record high of 3.6 million vehicles, growing 23 per cent YoY. The previous high was in FY'19 when retail sales were 3.2 million vehicles, according to FADA.

The PV segment saw a couple of new launches and better product availability due to the easing of the semiconductor shortage during the year. The demand for higher-end variants helped sustain sales. However, the entry-level variant remains under pressure as customers in this category are still affected by high inflation.

Tractors registered single digit growth of 8 per cent YoY. Despite the marginal growth, the segment clocked its all-time high retail sales of 8.27 lakh beating its previous high of 7.82 lakh units in FY’21.

“FY'23 was the first full year without any impact of Covid after a gap of two years. Consequently, overall retail sales during the year experienced double-digit growth of 21%. Similarly, all categories except for tractors saw double-digit growth, with 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers, passenger vehicles, and commercial vehicles growing by 19, 84, 23, and 33 per cent, respectively. Tractors, however, only grew by 8 per cent," said Singhania. 

He added: "The 2W segment fell to a 7-year low with total retails of 15.9 million during the year. EV penetration in this category during the year was at 4.5 per cent . The 3-wheeler category maintained its impressive growth rate of 84 per cent year over year. Electrification in this category reached 52 per cent, primarily driven by the e-rickshaw segment. The availability of finance, along with the availability of alternative fuels and state subsidies, has contributed to the growth of this segment."

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