To align with retail demands, passenger vehicle (PV) manufacturers, in August, reported a decline in wholesale dispatches to dealers. This decline was consistent across major car makers such as Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) and Tata Motors, all of whom adjust their dispatches to manage inventory levels.

For instance, MSIL reported domestic wholesales of over 1.4 lakh units in August, a year-on-year (YoY) decline of 8.35 per cent as compared with over 1.4 lakh units in the same month last year.

To address dealers’ stock levels, the company said it was reducing dispatches to control inventory. This approach will also provide a clearer picture of retail sales on the basis of the dispatches by the companies.

We are adjusting our dispatches slightly and have reduced them by 13,000 vehicles this month, said Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer - Marketing and Sales at MSIL.

We estimate that the industry total should be around 3.50-3.55 lakh vehicles, compared to 3.60 lakh in August 2023, he added.

He said the company’s retail sales was in line with the wholesale figures and even slightly exceeded them. As a result, the company’s network stock, which was 38 days at the start of August, had come down to 36 days by the end of the month.

The second largest PV maker, HMIL, too reported a decline of 8per cent YoY in its domestic sales to 49,525 units as compared with 53,830 units in August last year.

‘Nexon’ maker Tata Motors also reported a decline of three per cent YoY in its domestic wholesales of 44,142 units in August as compared with 45,513 units in August 2023.

According to sources, HMIL and Tata Motors have been managing their dealer networks’ stock levels in accordance with customer demand.

“In the current situation, the supply chain is managed based on the demand cycle and there is no need for unnecessary stock. But, yes as the festive season kicks in, certain amount of stocks has to be there so that the customers don’t have to wait for long and miss their auspicious days to collect the cars,” a Delhi-based dealer told businessline.

Meanwhile, Banerjee highlighted that comparing August of last year to this year is not entirely accurate, as the festive season began in August last year. This year, the main festivals are starting from September.

“Last year, Onam was on August 27-28-29. This year, Onam is on September 16-17-18 and therefore, it is not a like-to-like comparison. But, just to share that in Kerala, if we compare the whole month this year, we are seeing a growth of seven per cent in terms of bookings. Even the retail has been more or less same as the last year’s August,” he added.

Other companies are also hoping for a better month in terms of sales in September as the main festive season kicks off with Ganesh Chaturthi and Onam.

“As we approach the festive season, demand for our products remains buoyant, and we are already witnessing increased consumer interest and higher footfall across all our dealerships. Sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) continue to significantly contribute to our sales numbers, reflecting a growing preference for these segment vehicles,” Sabari Manohar, Vice President, Sales-Service-Used Car Business, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said.

The company reported a domestic wholesales of 28,589 units in August, a growth of 25 per cent YoY as compared with 22,910 units in August last year.

Similarly, Kia India and JSW MG Motor India also reported a growth of 19 per cent and 9 per cent in their sales respectively.

Related Topics