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The country's largest passenger car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) on Thursday said it has achieved a wholesale of 1,46,203 units in the domestic market in March, compared with 76,240 units in the same month last year.
Domestic sales in March 2020 had dropped about 48 per cent due to Covid-19-related disruptions. It will be seen that domestic sales in March 2021 have only recovered to March 2019 levels, the company said.
Also read: Compact SUVs continue to grow for five consecutive years: ICRA report
In the mini segment (Alto, S-Presso), the company sold 24,653 units during the month, up 54 per cent, compared with 15,988 units in March 2020.
In the compact segment (like WagonR, Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno, Dzire), MSIL sold 82,201 units, against 40,519 units in the corresponding month last year.
Similarly, in the utility vehicle segment (like Vitara Brezza, Ertiga, S-Cross), the company sold 26,174, compared with 11,904 units in March 2020.
Meanwhile, Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) also said that the company sold a total of 15,001 units in March, compared with 7,023 units in the corresponding month last year.
“We have been able to sustain the growth momentum as we closed the last quarter registering a 73 per cent growth in domestic sales, compared to the corresponding period last year. In fact, last month witnessed the highest ever domestic sales in the month of March since 2013, helping us clock 114 per cent growth over wholesales compared to March 2020,” Naveen Soni, Senior Vice President at TKM, said.
According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) March 2020 sales figures were unusually low due to the lockdown. Hence, comparing March 2021 sales figures with 2020 March figures may not portray a correct picture.
"Further, fiscal year 2021 data, available till February, indicates that the passenger vehicle industry in terms of sales numbers from April 2020 to February 2021 is still below 2015-16 levels. Two-wheeler industry, on the other hand, in terms of sales numbers from April 2020 to February 2021 are below 2014-15 levels," Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM, said.
Growth on an unusually low base would thus artificially indicate a huge turnaround for the industry, whereas in reality, the industry is still striving to achieve reasonable sales numbers, he added.