Indian auto sector records highest-ever October sales
The Indian auto industry has recorded its best-ever October sales this year, data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed. The two-wheeler segment led the charge with a record-breaking domestic sale of 21.64 lakh units, marking a robust year-on-year (YoY) growth of 14.2%. Passenger vehicles also got a major boost, selling an unprecedented 3.93 lakh units in October, a slight YoY increase of 0.9%.
Festive season fuels surge in auto sales
Rajesh Menon, Director General at SIAM, credited the stellar October sales performance to the festive season. He said that major festivals such as Dussehra and Diwali, which usually lead to higher consumer demand, gave a major push to the performance of the auto industry. This spike was also seen in Vahan vehicle registration data, which recorded over 30% growth in registrations of passenger vehicles and two-wheelers over October 2023.
Two-wheeler sector witnesses robust demand
The two-wheeler sector witnessed robust consumer interest during the festive season with total domestic sales hitting 1.23 crore units. This marks a whopping YoY growth of 15.9%. In October alone, 21,64,276 units were sold against 18,95,799 units during the same period last year. The first half of the fiscal year beginning April also witnessed strong domestic sales with a huge jump over last year's numbers.
Hero MotoCorp leads two-wheeler growth
Hero MotoCorp dominated as the top two-wheeler manufacturer in India, selling 6,56,484 units in October and registering a 17.2% YoY increase in domestic sales. Honda Motorcycles and Scooter India closely followed with total domestic sales of 5,53,120 units. TVS Motor Company also reported strong numbers with a 13.20% YoY increase in domestic two-wheeler sales, by selling a total of 3,90,489 units during the period.
SUVs and MPVs drive passenger vehicle sales
SUVs and MPVs ruled the passenger vehicles segment, pushing sales growth with robust segment-wise demand. Despite a YoY decline of 17.3% in passenger car sales in October, utility vehicles witnessed a 13.9% YoY growth with 2,25,934 units sold. This translates to the fact that the utility vehicles segment alone contributed to almost 57.4% of all passenger vehicles sold in India during this period.
Maruti Suzuki tops PV sales
Despite a 5.04% dip in overall domestic sales, Maruti Suzuki continued to lead with 1,59,591 units sold in October. Hyundai Motor India closely followed with 55,568 units sold during the same period, marking a marginal YoY increase of 0.8%. SUVs constituted a major chunk of these sales numbers for both companies, reiterating the ongoing love affair of Indian consumers with this vehicle category.
