May turned out to be a good month for carmakers as sales continued to be brisk.
Maruti Suzuki India reported domestic retails of 146,596 units in May which included 2,888 units of its Super Carry pickup. According to the company, while the chip shortage continues to be an issue, sales were still up by 15.45% from May 2022’s tally of 124,474 units.
Its rival of many decades, Hyundai Motor India reported 14.91% YoY growth with domestic sales at 48,601 units, compared to 42,293 units in May last year. Kia India, its group brand, sold 18,766 units which was nearly at par with 18,718 units last year. The Sonet accounted for 8,251 units.
With sales of 45,878 units, Tata Motors is clearly zeroing in on Hyundai and it will be interesting to see how the seesaw operates in the coming months. The Indian company has clearly got back its mojo and is now betting big on CNG along with electric in its clean fuels drive.
Mahindra & Mahindra is also on a roll with its SUV numbers up by 23% YoY to 32,883 units from 26,632 units last year. At a recent press conference in Mumbai to discuss its annual results, the company reiterated its focus on the SUV business with brands like Thar and XUV 700 posting brisk numbers.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor also had a good month with sales of 20,410 units, more than twice the number recorded last year which was 10,216 units. The growth also follows the start of the third shift at its Bidadi plant.
MG Motor India posted a growth of 25% with retails at 5,006 units, up from 4,008 units in May '22. The company recently announced its plans to invest more than INR 5,000 crore by 2028 and will increase local sourcing while focusing on new energy options like cell manufacturing and hydrogen.
Nissan Motor India, meanwhile posted domestic retails of 2618 units, 18.6% higher than 2,131 units in May ’22.
In the commercial vehicle space, Tata Motors reported a fall of 12% to 27,570 units in May from 31,414 units retailed last year. Its ILMCV trucks were down 38% from 5,540 units in May ’22 to 3,450 units.
Ashok Leyland was marginally down by 1% to 12,378 units from 12,458 units. Its M&HCV and LCV offerings fell 1% and 8% to 6,573 units and 4,788 units while buses grew by 62% to 1017 units.
M&M was down 5.04% with domestic retails at 20,062 units from 21,149 units last year. While its LCV > 3.5T + MHCV grew by 60% YoY to 1,009 units, the LCV < 2T and LCV 2 T – 3.5 T segment fell by 10% and 7% to 2913 units and 16140 units.
M&M recently extended its Bolero Maxx Pik-up range and expects to sell around 17,500 units a month. It sold two lakh units in the 2-3.5T LCV range in FY23 with a market share of 60%. The company’s tractors were down 3% to 33,113 units from 34,153 units last year.
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