Car shipments shifting back to pre-Covid gear; Maruti, Hyundai at the top

Tata Motors currently leads the pack with about 80,000 electric cars sold, followed by MG Motor India at over 10,000, another 2,000 by luxury players.

Small cars may emerge as a viable option for car buyers in the long run, said a top executive at market leader Maruti Suzuki, which also sells the highest number of small cars in India.

Maruti Suzuki, India's largest carmaker, plans to triple its overseas sales by 2030 and aims to become a global manufacturing hub for automobiles. The company intends to increase its share of new energy vehicles in its export basket and is optimistic about surpassing previous year's export volumes.

Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai, the leading carmakers in the country, are set to achieve their best January sales driven by strong consumer demand, particularly for SUVs. Industry estimates suggest that over 375,000 vehicles will be dispatched this month, an increase of more than 8% compared to January 2023. The share of SUVs in the domestic market is expected to grow to 52-53% this year. The preference for SUVs has led to an increase in the average selling price of passenger vehicles in India. Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai are confident about the continued demand for the rest of the quarter.

Five years back, electric vehicles used to sell just 90 units a month. Today these sell 8,500 to 9,500 units a month, which is like 100 times more...five years back the industry had sold about 2,000 cars and we are talking about already an annualised run rate this year of more than one lakh units so it's a 50 times growth, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Managing Director Shailesh Chandra told reporters.

Carmakers in India are forecast to face a record stockpile of 400,000 vehicles worth ₹44,000 crore by the end of May, as demand cools after a three-year run of high sales. Passenger vehicle registrations are expected to fall by 5% in May from a year earlier, due to election-related uncertainties, the completion of marriage season, and heat waves in key markets, particularly Delhi NCR.

India's passenger vehicle shipments increased by 12.9% YoY to 331,747 units in April, with all automakers stepping up supplies to dealerships. However, the limited availability of semiconductors affected the production operations of Maruti Suzuki. Retail sales of passenger vehicles marginally grew by 3.5% YoY to 285,700 units during the month. While Maruti Suzuki reported robust increasing volumes in April, its sales were constrained due to a shortage of electronic components that affected deliveries. Despite an increase in enquiry levels following the introduction of new SUV models, concerns remain over inflation and the possible weakening of consumer sentiments due to less favourable monsoon rains.

Maruti Suzuki, India's biggest automaker, is looking to break into the premium car segment with its new seven seater, as a growing number of buyers opt for bigger, feature-packed cars.

Maruti has over 40% market share in the passenger vehicles (PV) segment. In 2022-23, Maruti sold a total of 1.96 million vehicle.

The company looks to regain lost market share with new SUVs and premium offerings