Car demand in November outshines last year's sales; Maruti Suzuki sees a decline

Barring market leader Maruti Suzuki wholesale volumes of the next seven carmakers were higher in November compared to the same month last year on the back of new launches and festive cheer.

The eight passenger vehicle (PV) making companies which control 94 percent of the market recorded a growth of 12 percent to 268,050 units, as per data shared by each carmaker.

Since Diwali fell in the middle of November the stock build up to the festival happened in the second half of October and the first week of November. These are wholesale units, sold by the carmakers to their dealers. 

Maruti Suzuki recorded a fall of 2.4 percent to 135,775 units for November. The decline was led by a fall in demand  - by 15 percent - for the mini segment where it sells Alto and S-Presso. Its compact segment cars comprising Swift, Baleno, Celerio, Dzire and Wagon R reported a decline of 1.8 percent. 

Meanwhile rival Hyundai India recorded its best-ever November in its 23 year history with sales of 48,800 units, a growth of 9 percent compared to the same month last year. The South Korean brand has revamped almost its entire portfolio over the last several months with new launches such as i20, Creta, Verna, Venue, Aura and Grand i10 Nios. 

Tata Motors managed to log the best growth among all carmakers clocking sales of 21,600 units during November, a jump of 108 percent compared to the same month last year. Sustained strong demand for Nexon, Tiago and Altroz have helped the Mumbai-based company retain its third spot in the ranking. 

Kia Motors India clocked sales of 21,022 units, a growth of 50 percent compared to the same month last year. It retained the fourth spot in the ranking. 

Kookhyun Shim, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Kia Motors India said, “Since the COVID-19 outbreak, we were quite hopeful about the festive month and the results are overwhelming. While there is still a lot of uncertainty in the market due to the pandemic, the overall consumer sentiment has significantly improved and we are all prepared to offer a safe and hassle free ownership experience to our customers”.

Mahindra & Mahindra, the former number three in the PV ranking, reported a growth of 24 percent in volumes to 18,212 units in November as against the same period last year. Veejay Nakra, Chief Executive Officer, Automotive Division, M&M said, “Given the strong rural growth and signs of improvement in economic activities we are hopeful to see this positive momentum continue post the festive period.”

Honda Cars India registered 55 percent growth in domestic volumes to 9,990 units as compared to same month last year. Lucrative offers to the customer and a refreshed product lineup are the reasons behind the increase in sales, claims Honda.

Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM) recorded 2 percent growth in volumes in November with sales of 8,508 units as compared to 8,312 units sold in the same month last year. Though the company claims to have recorded 12 percent growth in retail volumes during the same month, a strike and the subsequent lockout at both its  manufacturing plants near Bengaluru hurt production and supplies during November.

Naveen Soni, Sr. Vice President, Sales & Service, TKM said, “Owing to the illegal strike called upon by the members of the union, TKM was forced to declare a lockout at the factory which has impacted our production and wholesale numbers. Having said that, we have been able to fulfill the market demand with the stock available with us, both at the factory as well as at the dealer’s end.”