Maruti sales dip 9% in Dec; Tata Motors records 13.9% growth

Barring Maruti Suzuki, most PV automakers posted growth in sales in the month of December 2022. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, India's biggest passenger vehicle maker, sold 1,39,347 units in December 2022, a 9% decline from 1,53,149 vehicles sold in December 2021, mainly due to the shortage of electronic components. Of this, the total domestic passenger vehicle sold in December 2022 stood at 1,12,010, down 8.9% from 1,23,016 units in the year-ago period.

"Total sales in the month include domestic sales of 113,535 units, sales to other OEMs of 4,016 units and exports of 21,796 units. The shortage of electronic components had some impact on the production of vehicles, mainly in domestic models. The company took all possible measures to minimise the impact," Maruti Suzuki said in a statement.

In the mini-segment, 9,765 units of Alto, S-Presso were sold, a big 40% decline on a YoY basis from 16,320 units sold in December 2021. In the compact segment comprising Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift, Tour S, and WagonR, Maruti sold 57,502 units, down 17% from 69,345 units in the year-ago period. Maruti Suzuki exported 21,796 units in December 2022, a 2.1% decline from 22,280 units in the year-ago period.

Tata Motors, on the other hand, recorded a 13.9% growth in December 2022 at 40,407 units as compared to 35,462 units in the year-ago period, with the popular SUV range continuing to contribute to two-thirds of the sales volumes. Overall, Tata's total domestic sales stood at 72,997, up 10% from 66,307 in the year-ago period. 

"For Tata Motors passenger vehicles, CY22 has been a momentous year as we outpaced industry growth and crossed the distinctive milestone of 5 lakh units comfortably to post wholesale of 526,798 units. Last quarter (Q3FY23) was one of the best quarters for the PV industry with strong retail from new launches, robust festive demand, and an adequate supply of vehicles. Tata Motors PV posted the highest ever quarterly and monthly retails in Q3FY23 and Dec’22, respectively," says Shailesh Chandra, managing director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility Ltd.

In the entire quarter, Tata Motors' wholesales stood at 1,31,297 units, a growth of 32.6% vs Q3 FY22. Tata EVs also posted their highest-ever sales in Q3 FY23 at 12,596 units, a growth of 116.2%, and crossed the landmark cumulative sales milestone of 50,000 units. "Tiago.ev received tremendous response, post the bookings opening during the quarter; deliveries to start in Jan’23. Going forward, we expect the growth momentum for EVs to remain strong with their rising popularity and the announcement of progressive policies by several states," said Chandra.

Hyundai Motor India, South Korean giant Hyundai Motor's India unit, recorded the highest-ever domestic sales since its inception of 5,52,511 units in the calendar year (CY) 2022, with a growth of 9.4% YoY. Tarun Garg, director of sales, marketing and service, at Hyundai Motor India Ltd, said, "SUVs now contribute to more than 50% of our overall volumes and our showstopper model CRETA registered its highest ever annual sales volume of 1,40,895 units in CY22 since its introduction in 2015.”

A total of 38,831 Hyundai units were sold in December 2022, up 20.2% from 32,312 units sold in the year-ago period. The company also exported around 19,021 units, up 14.4% from 16,621 units sold during the same period last year. With this, Hyundai's cumulative sales grew 18.2% from 57,852 to 48,933.

Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd sold 28,333 vehicles in December 2022. The PV segment, which includes UVs, cars and vans, sold 28,445 vehicles in December 2022, up 61% from 28,445 units sold in FY23. In the utility vehicles segment, Mahindra sold 28,333 vehicles in December 2022, up 62% YoY from 17,469 sold in the year-ago period.

Kia Motor's India unit, Kia India, clocked the best-ever cumulative sales of 3,36,619 units in CY2022, registering a growth of 47.7% over CY2021. The brand’s domestic dispatches stood at 2,54,556 units, reporting 40.1% Y-o-Y growth and export dispatches at 82,063 units in CY2022.

Kia India registered 15,184 unit sales in the domestic market in Dec '22, with 94.7% Y-o-Y growth. "Despite various headwinds like geopolitical issues, COVID-induced supply chain obstructions and price increase, we managed to register the highest sales ever for the brand in the country," says Hardeep Singh Brar, VP and head-sales and marketing, Kia India.