2022 car, SUV sales: Tata closely follows Hyundai; Maruti tops the chart

Tata and Mahindra have seen significant increase in market share, which Maruti and Hyundai lost.

Published On Jan 03, 2023 07:00:00 PM

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The year 2022 has been a record breaker in more ways than one for India’s passenger vehicle (PV) industry. This is not just because it has scaled a new high of over 3.8 million units sold – beating the previous best of 3.34 million units in 2018 – but a few carmakers have also notched their best-ever annual numbers.

Fifteen car manufacturers, the bulk of whom released their December 2022 wholesales numbers over the past two days, have together recorded cumulative sales of 37,68,412 units, which constitutes a strong 24 percent year-on-year growth (CY2021: 30,34,823 units). If the 35,000 units sold by luxury carmakers is added, the cumulative sales total surpasses 3.8 million units.

Car, SUV sales 2022
Carmaker	2022 sales	2021 sales	Growth	2022 market share	2021 market share
Maruti Suzuki	15,76,025	13,64,791	15%	41.82%	44.97%
Hyundai	5,52,511	5,05,533	9%	14.66%	16.65%
Tata Motors	5,26,798	3,31,178	59%	13.97%	10.91%
Mahindra	3,35,088	2,03,390	65%	8.89%	6.70%
Kia	2,54,556	1,81,583	40%	6.75%	5.98%
Toyota	1,60,357	1,30,768	23%	4.25%	4.30%
Honda	95,022	89,152	7%	2.52%	2.93%
Renault	81,042	95,878	-15%	2.15%	3.15%
Skoda	53,721	23,858	125%	1.42%	0.78%
MG Motor	48,063	40,273	19%	1.27%	1.32%
Volkswagen	42,481	26,930	58%	1.12%	0.88%
Nissan	35,107	40,242	-13%	0.93%	1.32%
Citroen	6,134	624	883%	0.16%	0.02%
Force Motors	830	122	580%	0.02%	0.00%
Isuzu	677	501	35%	0.01%	0.02%
Total	37,68,412	30,34,823	24%	100%	100%

The top six players – Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Mahindra, Kia India and Toyota – together account for 90 percent of the total PV market. Other than Hyundai and Toyota, which have seen year-on-year sales increase in single-digits, the others have posted double-digit gains.

While the market share of Tata Motors, Mahindra and Kia have increased, the shares of the other three – Maruti, Hyundai and Toyota – have dropped.

Maruti Suzuki: 15,76,025 units, up 15 percent

2022 market share: 41.82 percent, down from 2021’s 44.97 percent

Maruti Suzuki sold over 1.5 million units to record a 15 percent YoY growth in 2022. The bulk of its growth came from its compact models – the Baleno, Swift, Wagon R, Celerio, Ignis and Dzire – which, with 8,69,040 units, accounted for 55 percent of its sales in 2022, compared to the 52 percent in 2021. Its UVs contributed to sales of 3,37,157 units, which is 21 percent of the total sales, and is the same as in CY2021.

Meanwhile, the entry-level models – the Alto and S Presso – with 2,27,824 units contributed to 14.45 percent sales in 2022. However, flagging demand in this mass-market segment meant that this was a decline over the 17 percent share in 2021.

The carmaker, which has a pending order backlog of around 3,75,000 units, would have fared better had production not been impacted at different times due to the semiconductor supply chain issue. In fact, its December 2022 tally of 1,12,110 units is the lowest in the year, caused by a shortage of electronic components. September 2022 was the best month for Maruti Suzuki with sales of 1,38,380 units.

Hyundai: 5,52,511 units, up 9 percent

2022 market share: 14.66 percent, down from 2021’s 16.65 percent

Hyundai closed the year with its best-ever domestic annual sales – 5,52,511 units/up 9.4 percent – since it began its India operations 25 years ago.

Hyundai’s strong performance is thanks to sustained demand for two of its bestselling products – the Creta and Venue SUVs. The Creta, India’s second bestselling SUV after the Tata Nexon, has sold a total of 1,40,895 units and accounts for 25.50 percent of the total sales.

The Venue, with estimated 12-month sales of 1,21,918 units, contributed 22 percent to Hyundai’s sales in 2022, with the Creta and Venue accounting for an estimated 47 percent of total sales. SUVs, as a whole, contributed to over 50 percent of the overall number.

Tata Motors: 5,26,798 units, up 59 percent

2022 market share: 13.97 percent, up from 2021’s 10.91 percent

Tata Motors has notched its best-ever annual wholesales performance in 2022 with 5,26,798 units. The company has capitalised on surging demand for its SUVs, particularly the Nexon and the Punch, which are currently the bestselling in their respective segments.

What has also helped Tata Motors accelerate growth is its first-mover advantage in the fast-growing electric vehicle market, where it has an over 80 percent market share. The company currently retails the Nexon EV, Tigor EV and Tiago EV, although the Tiago EV's deliveries are set to begin this month. According to our sister publication Autocar Professional’s estimates, Tata Motors has sold 41,538 EVs in 2022, which accounts for 7.88 percent of the company’s total sales, helping it record a year-on-year growth of 59 percent.

Tata Motors has also made maximum gains in the passenger vehicle market share, which has increased by 3 percentage points to 13.97 percent from 10.91 percent in 2021. The company is eyeing the second position and closed 2022 just 25,713 units behind Hyundai.

Mahindra: 3,35,088 units, up 65 percent

2022 market share: 8.89 percent, up from 2021’s 6.70 percent

Mahindra, which, along with Tata Motors, is the star performer of 2022, has clocked cumulative wholesales of 3,35,088 units, a solid 65 percent increase over 2021’s wholesales of 2,03,390 units. The company has seen an increase in demand for its entire SUV line-up – XUV700, Scorpio N and Scorpio Classic, XUV300, Thar and the Bolero/Bolero Neo.

Mahindra’s averaged monthly sales of around 27,924 units in 2022 – a sharp increase over the 16,949 units per month in 2021. The numbers could have been considerably higher if it weren’t for production being impacted by the vexing semiconductor supply chain issue.

In November, Mahindra had a pending order bank of 2,60,000 units. To ensure increased supplies to dealers and consumers, the company has announced an aggressive manufacturing capacity expansion programme, designed to increase production by 68 percent to over 6,00,000 units per annum over the next 12-15 months. This will see the monthly output grow from 29,000 units in Q4 FY2022 to 49,000 units by January-March 2024.

Kia: 2,54,556 units, up 40 percent

2022 market share: 6.75 percent, up from 2021’s 5.98 percent

Kia is another carmaker that recorded its best-ever calendar year sales in 2022. Its 2,54,556 units mark a 40 percent annual growth, and help increase its share in the overall PV market to 6.75 percent from the 5.98 percent it had in 2021.

Kia’s growth has been bolstered by the fact that it has an SUV-strong portfolio. The Seltos midsize SUV, its bestselling product, sold 1,01,569 units, accounting for 40 percent of total sales. The Sonet compact SUV with 86,251 units contributed to 34 percent, while the Carens MPV solld 62,756 units in its first full year of sales. Given the sustained demand for these three, it is not surprising that they are regulars in the Top 10 UV sales list. Meanwhile, adding to Kia’s overall numbers, the Carnival MPV and the all-electric EV6 sold 3,550 and 430 units, respectively in 2022.

Toyota: 1,60,357 units, up 23 percent

2022 market share: 4.25 percent, down from 2021’s 4.30 percent

Toyota reported total wholesales of 1,60,357 units in 2022. This is the company’s highest-ever wholesales in the past 10 years, which is a 23 percent year-on-year growth (CY2021: 1,30,768 units). The best wholesales earlier clocked by Toyota India was in 2012, with a total of 1,72,241 units. In December 2022, Toyota sold 10,421 units, down 4 percent on the year-ago 10,834 units.

Other beneficiaries of the overall market growth last year have been Honda, Skoda, MG Motor and Volkswagen. Honda sold a total of 95,022 units, up 7 percent over last year, with the City sedan seeing good traction.

Skoda and Volkswagen have both benefited from the VW Group’s India 2.0 programme. Skoda India saw its sales jump 125 percent to 53,721 units, its best-ever calendar year numbers, thanks to demand for the Kushaq SUV and the Slavia sedan. This has seen Skoda’s market share grow to 1.42 percent from 0.78 percent in 2021.

Likewise, Volkswagen, with its Taigun SUV and Virtus sedan saw sales rise 58 percent to 42,481 units, resulting in a market share increase to 1.12 percent from 0.88 percent a year ago. MG Motor India, with 48,063 units, registered a 19 percent growth over 2021, with a 1.27 percent market share.

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Rajesh Jejurikar is Autocar Professional's Man of the Year 2022