New Delhi: Passenger vehicle (PV) dispatches from the manufacturers to the dealers crossed the 4-million units mark for the first time in a calendar year in 2023, marking a growth of about 8% over 3.79 million units dispatched in 2022. The industry previously recorded its peak in annual sales during 2022.
According to Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer- Marketing and Sales, Maruti Suzuki India, the record sales were led by the demand for SUVs, which now accounts for 49% of the PV industry in India, up from 42% in the previous year.
The share of hatchbacks has come down to 30% in 2023 from 35% earlier, sedans also dropped to 9.4% from 11% while multi-utility vehicles (MUVs) continue to take up 8.7% share.
It may also be noted that the record sales for PVs comes on the back of the average selling price (ASP) of vehicles increasing to almost INR 11.5 lakh in 2023 from INR 10.58 lakh in 2022.
Maruti Suzuki estimates that the ASP which stood at about INR 8.2 lakh by FY 2019-20 has gradually gone up over the past four years owing to commodity prices, regulatory norms and consumer preference for SUV-styled models.
For Hyundai Motor India, the share of SUVs in its overall sales currently stands at about 60%. Tarun Garg, Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Hyundai, expects SUVs to contribute to 52-53% of overall PV sales of the industry this year.
Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility said the record sales in the industry during CY2023 was “supported by a strong supply situation, new nameplates launched in the SUV segment, and a robust demand during the longer festive period.”
Going forward, Srivastava expects that while there is room for the SUV segment to further grow, its share could hover at around 50-55% in two years. For 2024, he expects PV sales to be muted in single digit.
Vehicle dispatches in December
After the festive season in October-November, December has been traditionally known to observe hefty discounts from OEMs and dealers to clear off the year-end inventory. In line with this aim to reduce the stocks, most automakers also moderated their dispatches to the dealers.
As per industry estimates, 2.87 lakh PV wholesales were reported during December, while retail sales stood at 4.42 lakh units. The network inventory currently stands at about 1.76 lakh units.
Maruti Suzuki dispatched just 2,557 units of mini car sales (Alto and S-Presso) in December 2023, a drop from 9,765 units during the corresponding period of last year. Wholesales of compact cars (Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift, Tour S, WagonR) were also down to 45,741 units in December 2023, compared to 57,502 units in December 2022.
Mid-size sedan Ciaz sales also dipped to 489 units in December 2023, compared to 1,154 units in December 2022.
However, the utility vehicle wholesales (Brezza, Ertiga, Fronx, Grand Vitara, Invicto, Jimny, S-Cross, XL6) was up at 45,957 units in December 2023, as against 33,008 units in December 2022.
| OEM Wholesales | December 2023 | December 2022 | % change |
| Maruti Suzuki | 1,04,778 | 1,12,010 | -6.5 |
| Tata Motors | 43,470 | 40,043 | 9 |
| Hyundai | 42,750 | 38,831 | 10 |
| Mahindra & Mahindra | 35,174 | 28,445 | 24 |
“Going forward, with multiple new products, including a new nameplate scheduled for launch in CY2024, we remain optimistic about continuing the growth trend in the quarters ahead,” Chandra of Tata Motors said.
