A surge of bookings during the auspicious Navratri festival brought in better MoM sales while YoY sales fell by 1.36 percent
Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has released Car Retail Sales October 2023 data. The start of the festive season during the period of Navratri brought in rich rewards across every segment on a month-on-month (MoM) basis. While two wheeler retail sales increased by 15 percent, three-wheeler sales grew by 2 percent and passenger vehicles saw a 7 percent growth. Tractor and commercial vehicles also reported a 15 percent and 10 percent growth respectively.
Car Retail Sales Oct 2023 – Most leading automakers post YoY de-growth
YoY sales, however, which was marked by the Shraddh period in the first half of October 2023 saw YoY sales decline by an overall 8 percent. Taking the 10 days of Navratri into account, two and three-wheeler sales improved by 22 percent and 43 percent respectively while commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles reported a 9 percent and 6.5 percent growth respectively. It was only tractor sales that dipped by 8 percent during the 10 day period.
With total car sales at 3,53,990 units, it was a YoY de-growth of 1.36 percent while MoM sales which had stood at 3,32,248 units in September 2023 saw a 6.54 percent growth. Maruti Suzuki was once again a leader in this segment with a 41 percent market share. Sales dipped to 1,45,047 units in October 2023 from 1,49,763 units sold in October 2022. It was however a MoM growth over 1,39,640 units sold in September 2023.
Hyundai also reported a YoY de-growth in retail sales in October 2023 as sales dipped to 50,713 units in the past month, down from 51,626 units sold in October 2022. On a MoM basis, it was a growth from 49,625 units sold in September 2023. Hyundai recently introduced 6 airbags as standard fitment across its entire Indian portfolio. This not only makes its way to the company’s larger models but is also on offer across the Grand i10 NIOS, Aura and Venue. These include dual front airbags and dual side airbags along with dual curtain airbags.
Mahindra Sales Grew YoY
YoY de-growth in retail sales was also reported by Tata Motors, sales of which fell to 48,858 units in the past month, down from 50,383 units sold in October 2022. Market share dipped to 13.80 percent from 14.04 percent YoY. On a MoM basis, it was a significant growth over 38,984 units sold in September 2023. Tata Motors is actively testing the new Curvv SUV, and fresh details of its interiors have been released.
Mahindra retail sales have improved YoY to 35,169 units in October 2023, up from 33,195 units sold in October 2022. This also took up market share to 9.94 percent from 9.25 percent. Mahindra now gears up for launch of the new XUV300 facelift, a sub 4 meter SUV, which is slated for launch in early 2024.
Kia Motors sales dipped to 21,086 units, down from 22,951 units sold in October 2023 while on a MoM basis, it was a marginal growth over 21,030 units sold in September 2023. Kia India is also preparing the Sonet facelift for launch also expected to go on sale early next year.
Toyota is steadily racking up sales
Toyota has seen increased sales in October 2023 up to 18,195 units, from 14,136 units sold in October 2022. Market share grew to 5.14 percent from 3.94 percent YoY. Also to report improved YoY sales was Honda Cars India with 8,229 units sold last month from 7,880 units sold in October 2022. Skoda Auto sales also grew to 7,851 units from 7,644 units on a YoY basis.
Renault India however, suffered a significant de-growth with retail sales dipping to 4,126 units in October 2023 from 7,864 units sold in October 2022. MG Motor sales increased to 4,033 units from 3,814 units on a YoY basis in October 2023 while Nissan sales fell to 2,242 units in the past month from 2,949 units sold in October 2022.
Luxury Automakers – Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar
In the luxury automobile segment, Mercedes Group sales dipped to 1,240 units in October 2023 from 1,277 units sold in October 2022. It was, however, a MoM de-growth from 1,373 units sold in September 2023. BMW sales improved marginally to 1,066 units from 1,027 units on a YoY basis in October 2023 while PCA Automobile retail sales dipped to 715 units in October 2023 from 741 units sold in October 2022.
The list also included Force Motors (645 units), Fiat India (452 units), Jaguar (372 units) and Volvo India (167 units) out of which it was only Fiat India that saw retail sales de-growth. BYD India sales improved significantly to 128 units in the past month from 38 units sold in October 2022 while Porsche sales grew to 73 units from 53 units on a YoY basis. Isuzu also reported an increase to 59 units from 55 units sold in October 2022. There were others on this list that contributed 3,524 units to total retail sales in October 2023 up from 1,510 units sold in October 2022.
