Passenger vehicle sales upbeat in September 2017 due to festive demand

Most of the country's passenger vehicle manufacturers posted robust sales in September on the back of new launches and a boost in consumer demand due to the Navratri festival and Dussehra, which is seen as an auspicious period to buy vehicles.

Cumulative Maruti, Hyundai, Tata and Toyota sales for September 2017 added up to 2,30,170 units, up 11.95 percent over the previous year’s sales for the four automakers (September 2016: 2,05,600).

Maruti Suzuki India, which looks well-set to hit its best-ever sales for a fiscal year, sold 1,50,521 units (up 9.6 percent) last month. Demand for its five compact cars (Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire) rose significantly by 44.7 percent year-on-year to 72,804 units (September 2016: 50,324), reflective of the surging demand for the premium Baleno hatchback and the new Dzire sedan.

However, its entry-level hatchback duo of the Alto and Wagon R sold 38,479 units, down 13.3 percent (September 2016: 44,395) and the premium Ciaz sedan saw volumes decline 14 percent to 5,603 units.

Sales of Maruti Suzuki’s utility vehicles – Gypsy, Ertiga, Vitara Brezza and S-Cross – surprisingly have slowed down at 19,900 units (up 8 percent compared to 18,423 in September 2016).

However, going forward, the Brezza sales could come under pressure as it will have to contend with the Nexon, Tata Motors’ first-ever compact SUV and possibly, its first strong challenger. The compact SUV battle for the consumer has just become a lot more exciting. 

Hyundai Motor India, the second largest car manufacturer in the country, recorded sales of 50,028 units in September 2017, a growth of 17.42 percent (September 2016: 42,605). Helping to drive the sales momentum is the recently launched new Verna sedan, which went home to over 6,000 owners even as the Creta SUV, Elite i20 and Grand i10 hatchbacks continue to see popular demand.

Tata Motors reported sales of 17,286 passenger vehicles, a growth of 5.72 percent over September 2016 (16,351 units) and mainly driven by demand for the Tiago, Tigor and Hexa. The recently launched Nexon compact SUV has also received a strong response in the market. Tata Motors’ cumulative PV sales for the April-September 2017 period are 81,417 units, a growth of 12 percent compared to 72,665 units in the same period last fiscal.

Meanwhile, Toyota registered muted growth in sales as volumes rose 2 percent to 12,335 units. The company has recently launched limited editions in the form of the Etios Cross X-Edition and Fortuner TRD Sportivo to make the most of the festive season. It has also introduced festive offers across its dealerships on the Etios series and Corolla Altis.

Mahindra sold 25,327 passenger vehicles in September 2017, against 20,537 vehicles during September 2016, registering a significant growth of 23 percent, led by the Scorpio, which registered its best-ever sales. 

Commenting on the monthly performance, Rajan Wadhera, President, Automotive Sector, M&M Ltd. said, “The auto industry has witnessed a buoyant demand in September leading up to the festive season. This upsurge has been witnessed both in urban and rural markets. We are particularly happy with the performance of our Scorpio brand which has had its highest monthly sales in September, since inception."