In aggregate, the six manufacturers — MSIL, Hyundai, Tata Motors, M&M, Honda Cars and TKM— sold 2,44,006 units in December 2020 in the domestic market Barring industry leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL), all other major automobile manufacturers gained from the festive and pent-up demand and announced growth in domestic passenger vehicle sales in November.
While MSIL announced sale of 1,35,775 units of passenger vehicles (PVs) in November, witnessing a 2.4 per cent dip in sales over that in the corresponding period last year, Hyundai Motor India Ltd — the second largest car manufacturer — announced a 9.4 per cent rise in sales in last month.
Other major players like Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM), and Honda Cars too announced growth in domestic sales in November. While Tata Motors witnessed a 108 per cent rise in PV sales at 21,641 units, M&M saw a 24 per cent growth in sales (18,212 units) over the year-ago period. Honda and TKM announced growth in sales by 54 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively.
While the broader industry continues to witness growth in sales on year-on-year basis, almost all manufacturers witnessed a decline in month-on-month (m-o-m) sales for the first time in seven months. Ever since the announcement of lockdown in March, all manufacturers have reported a growth in m-o-m sales for the last six months.
While MSIL announced a 17 per cent fall in sales over October 2020, Hyundai and Honda saw a dip in m-o-m sales by 13.8 per cent and 7.8 per cent, respectively. M&M and TKM too saw their sales fall by 2.2 per cent and 31 per cent, respectively, over that in October.
The decline in November sales over that in October, despite Diwali falling in November, has raised questions over the sustainability of demand revival.
“Given strong rural growth and signs of improvement in economic activities, we are hopeful to see this positive momentum continue post the festive season,” said Veejay Ram Nakra, CEO, automotive division, M&M.
