New Delhi: The car sales rally continued in February as most of the brands speared ahead and posted consistent gains. The top carmakers Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai Motor and Tata Motors reported robust sales growth in the domestic market last month as demand for personal mobility amid the COVID-19 pandemic continued to drive the market.
The market leader Maruti Suzuki promptly met the demand from customers and its domestic sales grew by 11.8% to 152,983 units last month, as against 136,849 units in February 2020.
The surge in the company’s sales during the month was driven by the compact and utility vehicle segments. The sales of the compact models, Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire, increased 15.3% to 80,517 units, as against 69,828 in February 2020.
Similarly, its dispatches to dealers of utility models like Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga jumped 19% to 26,884 units against 22,604 units in the year-ago month. Sales of the mini cars, Alto and S-Presso, however declined by 12.9% to 23,959 units, compared to 27,499 in the same month last year.
Shashank Srivastava, executive director, Maruti Suzuki India, told ET Auto that, “After a disastrous Q1, which saw an unprecedented zero sales month, there has been a progressive and rapid bounce back starting first with the rural markets and then elsewhere. The industry witnessed one of the strongest Q2 and Q3 with about 15% growth. The booking momentum, helped by a positive outlook of the economy and the waning COVID-19 sentiments, continued in Q4 also. As a result the cumulative sales in the industry are only about 9% less than that of last year. With a lockdown-marred small base of 141,000 in March last year the recovery is expected to continue.”
Hyundai Motor India reported a higher 29% increase in its local sales to 51,600 units as against 40,010 units in February 2020. Its export also recorded double digit growth of 15% last month at 10,200 units.
The company has been striving to drive resurgence in sales, thereby contributing to economic recovery and bringing its sales closer to pre-COVID level, HMIL director – sales, marketing and service, Tarun Garg, said.
Domestic sales of Tata Motors’ passenger vehicles surged over two folds to 27,225 units in February, the nine-year highest for the month.
The fourth spot was taken by Kia Motors which sold 16,702 units last month with 7% gain from 15,644 vehicles sold in February 2020.
The industry witnessed one of the strongest Q2 and Q3 with about 15% growth. The booking momentum, helped by a positive outlook of the economy and the waning COVID-19 sentiments, continued in Q4 also.Shashank Srivastava, executive director, Maruti Suzuki India
Similarly, Mahindra & Mahindra reported 41% increase in its passenger vehicle dispatches to dealers last month. The company sold 15,391 units last month, compared with 10,938 units in the year-ago period.
“Demand continues to remain buoyant for our range of SUVs and pick-ups and we have a robust order pipeline. However, supply of semiconductors is a global issue and it is likely to continue for another 3 to 4 months,” Veejay Nakra, chief executive officer, automotive division, M&M, said.
Toyota Kirloskar Motors posted 36% rise in its domestic sales to 14,075 units in February against 10,352 units in February last year.
“We started the year on a positive note and the trend continued as we closed the second month of the calendar year. Wholesales have been very encouraging and we are witnessing a high influx of customer orders month on month, thereby both significantly contributing to the growth story,” Naveen Soni, senior vice president, TKM, said.
The top five carmakers have robust numbers but the Indian market is expected to dip to 27 lakh units by the fiscal-end in March. The industry sold 23.90 lakh cars and SUVs so far in this fiscal. It is likely to sell another 3 lakh units in March and close the year at about 27 lakh units.
This will be a shade lower than the 27.73 lakh units sold last fiscal when the March sales were just 140,910 units on weak demand amid the uncertainty of the pandemic and a country-wide lockdown imposed to control the spread of Coronavirus.
An auto industry analyst said that sales have been pretty strong in the ongoing fiscal and March could carry the momentum to reach close to last fiscal. “The industry posted zero sales in April and the beginning was bad. Keeping behind this unprecedented time, the auto sector was the first to bounce back with people lapping up every new car available in the market. The industry could clock somewhere closer to last year’s sales tally of 27-lakh,” he said, preferring anonymity as he is not allowed to share future projections.
Among the others, Honda Cars India said its domestic wholesales in February rose by 28.3% to 9,324 units compared with 7,269 units in the corresponding month last year. “The market demand continues to be good which is reflected in our positive growth in February sales,” Rajesh Goel, senior vice president and director – marketing and sales, Honda Cars India, said in a media release. However, the shortage of semiconductor-related parts impacted the company on the supply front last month, which limited production volume and dispatches for certain models, he added.
Wholesales have been very encouraging and we are witnessing a high influx of customer orders month on month, thereby both significantly contributing to the growth story.Naveen Soni, senior vice president, TKM
The Japanese carmaker, Nissan Motor India, reported over four-fold rise in wholesales to 4,244 units last month over the same month last year, on the back of the newly-launched compact SUV Magnite and its other vehicle models.
On the same lines the Chinese automaker, MG Motor India, said it has recorded its best-ever retail sales in February at 4,329 units. The company’s sales rose over three folds last month to 4,329 units, compared to 1,376 units in the same month a year ago.
| OEM | Feb’21 | Feb’20 | % Change |
| Maruti Suzuki | 144,761 | 133,702 | 8.3 |
| Hyundai | 51,600 | 40,010 | 29 |
| Tata Motors | 27,225 | 12,430 | 119 |
| Kia Motors | 16,702 | 15,644 | 7 |
| Mahindra | 15,391 | 10,938 | 41 |
| Toyota | 14,075 | 10,352 | 36 |
| Renault | 11,034 | 8,784 | 26 |
| Honda | 9,324 | 7,269 | 28 |
| Ford | 5,775 | 7,019 | -18 |
| Nissan | 4,244 | 1,028 | 313 |
| Volkswagen | 2,186 | 350 | 500 |
| Fiat | 1,103 | 666 | 66 |
| Skoda | 853 | 1259 | -32 |
| Grand Total | 3,08,614 | 2,50,827 | 23 |
*Source Industry reports
Two-wheelers
The two wheeler segment also posted impressive numbers.
Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer, sold 505,467 units of motorcycles and scooters in February 2021 against 498,242 units dispatched during the corresponding month of 2020.
Meanwhile the domestic sales of its largest competitor, Honda 2Wheeler, increased 31% to 411,578 units in February, compared to 315,285 units sold last year. The cumulative sales with exports grew by a shade lower by 29% to 442,696 units last month compared to 342,021 units sold in February 2020.
Yadvinder Singh Guleria, director – sales and marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd, said, “We maintained positive sales growth momentum for the seventh consecutive month. While the industry growth is expected to be near double digits in Q4, and the upcoming Q1 due to the low base of BS-VI transition, Honda continues to drive the two wheeler demand recovery in 2021, backed by robust demand for models across both Red Wing and Silver Wing (300cc+ premium motorcycles).”
In the two-wheeler segment, TVS Motor company reported 15% increase in domestic sales to 195,145 units last month compared with 169,684 units in February 2020.
The vintage bike maker, Royal Enfield, posted 69,659 motorcycle sales in February, against 63,536 sold in the same month last year. Its domestic sales grew by 6% to 65,114 units last month.
