The overall passenger vehicle wholesales (dispatches to dealers) saw a mixed trend in October with Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), Tata Motors and Honda Cars India seeing a dip in sales while Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and JSW MG Motor India posting the highest-ever sales led by new launches during the month.

M&M sales have surpassed Tata Motors’ sales numbers for the second consecutive month to 54,504 units (as against 43,708 units in October 2023), while Tata Motors’ sales were recorded at 48,423 units in October as compared with 48,637 units in the corresponding month last year.

Market leader MSIL’s wholesales declined by five per cent YoY to 1,59,591 units last month as compared with 1,68,047 units in October last year. However, the company said it recorded highest-ever retail sales (direct to customers) in October which grew by more than 22 per cent YoY to 2,02,402 units as compared with around 1,65,000 units in October 2023.

“In retail, for Maruti Suzuki, this has been an all-time high month in October sales. We did 2,02,402 units and the best part is that the contribution was not only from SUVs but from our entry-level hatchbacks, mid-hatchbacks, multi-purpose vehicles and vans, number one being Brezza with sales of 24,237 units, followed by Swift at 22,303 units,” Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer - Marketing and Sales, MSIL, told businessline.

Rural drive

He said the reason for this growth has been because of rural growth which grew by 31 per cent YoY in October. For the whole industry, the total PV sales are estimated to be between 4.80 lakh and 4.90 lakh, he said, adding that last year it was 3.90 lakh, which is more than 25 per cent YoY and the wholesales may seem flat because of inventory correction by all the automakers.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) also reported a growth of 37 per cent YoY in its wholesles to 28,138 units in October as compared with 20,542 units in the same month last year.

Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) recorded a marginal growth in its wholesales to 55,568 units last month as compared with 55,128 units in October 2023.

“We witnessed a strong demand for our SUV portfolio during festive period, leading to our highest-ever monthly SUV sales at 37,902 units, including highest-ever monthly domestic sales of the Hyundai Creta at 17,497 units. SUVs remain a cornerstone of our line-up, representing an impressive 68.2 per cent of our total monthly sales in October, with similar penetration in urban as well as rural markets,” Tarun Garg, Whole-time Director and Chief Operating Officer, HMIL said.

Two-wheeler segment

In the two-wheeler segment, market leader Hero MotoCorp recorded a growth of more than 17 per cent YoY to 6,57,403 units in October as against 5,59,766 units in the same month last year. “This significant growth was primarily driven by robust demand from key urban and rural areas, particularly in the 100cc and 125cc segment during the festive period,” the company said.

TVS Motor Company also recorded a growth of 13 per cent YoY to 3,90,489 units as compared with 3,44,957 in October 2023. Similarly, Royal Enfield recorded highest-ever monthly sales figures in the history of the brand by selling 1,01,886 units in the domestic market, a growth of 26 per cent YoY as against 80,958 units in the corresponding month last year.

The commercial vehicles and tractors sales also fared well in October on the yearly basis.

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