Car sales rose for the third straight month in December, helping close calendar 2024 at a record 4.3 million vehicles.
As per industry estimates, wholesales or vehicle dispatches from factories to dealerships increased by 10-12% to 320,000-325,000 units with manufacturers replenishing stocks at dealerships after robust retails in the festive season. Automakers in India mostly report wholesale dispatches and not retail sales to customers.
ET was the first to report on December 23 that after slowing in the first half of this fiscal year, car sales have started showing signs of recovery and will close at a record high in calendar 2024.
Industry performance in December was supported by market leader Maruti Suzuki which saw wholesale volumes rise by 24% from a year earlier to 130,117 units. The company also posted its best-ever retails last month at 252,693 units, reducing overall stocks in the network to nine days, Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer (marketing and sales) told ET.
“We also registered our highest-ever annual sales of 1.79 million units last year (CY2024), breaking the earlier record of 1.75 million units seen six years back in 2018. In addition to SUVs, our new launches in the hatchback and sedan segments have been received well which helped boost sales across categories this year”, Banerjee said. Maruti’s newly launched entry sedan DZire clocked 25,000 bookings in December, he said.
After slowing in the first half of this fiscal year mainly due to general and state elections and extreme weather conditions, car sales rose by about 1% in October and 4% in November. Passenger vehicle sales grew by 3% in the first quarter.
Korean automaker Hyundai reported a 1.3% drop in sales at 42,208 units in December. However, Hyundai’s volume grew to a record 605,433 units in CY2024. Tarun Garg, wholetime director and chief operating officer, Hyundai Motor India said, “HMIL has managed to sustain sales momentum in 2024, despite strong headwinds faced by the industry at large.” The company saw robust demand for its SUVs, contributing as much as 67.6% to overall sales last year.
Tata Motors outpaced Hyundai in monthly sales in December at 44,230 units and closed the calendar year at 565,000 units. Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility said, “The PV industry posted moderate growth in CY24 and is expected to touch sales volume of 4.3 million units, with strong growth in the SUV segment and sustained traction for emission-friendly powertrains. In Q3 FY25, the industry saw a strong revival, driven by increased retails in the festive season…Looking ahead, we remain optimistic about the outlook for the PV industry.”
Mahindra recorded an 18% sales growth to 41,424 units last month. At JSW MG Motor India, sales rose by 55% to 7,516 units in December.
Toyota, which operates in a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group, reported a 16.5% growth at 24,887 units last month. Annual sales for the company was best-ever last year at about 300,000 units.
Sabari Manohar – Vice President, Sales-Service-Used Car Business, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “We are immensely proud to close 2024 with a record-breaking performance, achieving an impressive 40% year-on-year growth. The SUV and MPV segments being key contributors grew at 20% over the same period last year. We are also observing a growing shift of consumer preferences towards vehicles offering sustainability, value proposition of dependability quotient, enhanced safety and better resale value which is boosting our sales.”
In the commercial vehicle segment, demand remains subdued with market leader Tata Motors reporting a 1% decline at 32,369 units in December. Girish Wagh, executive director, Tata Motors, however, said, sales of commercial vehicles are improving quarter-on-quarter. Further, the company’s sales in December increased 24% sequentially.
“Propelled by a resurgence in construction and mining activities post-monsoon, plus the festive season demand, HCV segment witnessed robust sequential quarter on quarter (Q-o-Q) growth in sales during Q3 FY25, even as the YoY sales declined 9% due to limited growth in end-use segments,” Wagh said.
“The ILMCV (intermediate, light, medium commercial vehicle) segment witnessed ~3% Y-o-Y growth, driven by strong demand, with the MCV segment continuing its robust growth trajectory to record a 40% YoY increase during Q3FY25,” he said.
Looking ahead, Tata Motors expects demand to improve in the March quarter across most segments of the CV industry. “The key aspects to watch out in 2025 will be government’s focus on infrastructure spend, and growth in end use segments, which will augur well for the commercial vehicles industry,” said Wagh.
In the domestic CV market, Eicher branded trucks & buses recorded sales of 7,545 units in December 2024 as compared to 7,468 units in December 2023. Volvo Trucks and Volvo Buses recorded sales of 289 units in December 2024 as compared to 237 units in December 2023, representing a growth of 21.9%.
| Company | Dec 2023 | Dec 2024 | % Change |
| Maruti Suzuki | 104,778 | 130,117 | 24.2 |
| Hyundai Motor | 42,750 | 42,208 | -1.3 |
| Tata Motors | 43,470 | 44,230 | 2 |
| Mahindra & Mahindra | 35,171 | 41,424 | 18 |
| Toyota Kirloskar | 21,363 | 24,887 | 16.5 |
| JSW MG Motor | 4,848 | 7,516 | 55 |
| Nissan | 2,150 | 2,118 | -1.5 |
Source: Companies
(Domestic sales only)
