India car sales analysed: September 2020

- Car sales in September projects healthy improvement 

- Maruti Suzuki continues to be a strong volume player in India

In the last few months we have witnessed a significant improvement in car sales in India. Back in August 2020, passenger vehicle sales grew by 19.6 per cent as compared to the same period in 2019. The month of September has also been fairly good for car manufacturers in India. In terms of volumes, Maruti Suzuki continues to be the highest-selling car manufacturer in India followed by Hyundai. Tata Motors takes the third position in terms of volumes, while Kia Motors takes the fourth place. 

The country’s largest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki has sold 1,47,912 units in India in September 2020 as compared to 1,10,454 unit sales in September 2019, thereby registering a 33.9 per cent growth in sales. Car models like the Alto (21 per cent growth), Eeco (13 per cent growth), S-Presso (80 per cent growth), Wagon R (50 per cent growth), Ignis (162 per cent growth), Ertiga (59 per cent), Celerio (75 per cent growth), Swift (75 per cent growth), Baleno (70 per cent growth), and the S-Cross (21 per cent growth) have been the popular selling models for the company last month. 

Hyundai Motors has registered 24 per cent growth in sales with 50,313 unit sales in India last month as compared to 40,243 units sold in India in September 2019. Some of the popular sellers for Hyundai in September were the Grand i10 (11 per cent growth), Aura (234 per cent growth), Creta (86 per cent growth), Venue (seven per cent growth), Verna (28 per cent growth) and the Tucson (nine per cent growth). 

Tata Motors has registered an impressive 161.7 per cent growth in sales in India last month with 21,200 unit sales as compared to 8,773 unit sales in the same period last year. The recently launched premium hatchback, the Altroz has become one of the popular sellers for the company with 5,952 unit sales. Some of the other popular sellers with significant sales growth are the Tiago (98 per cent growth), Tigor (91 per cent growth), Nexon (111 per cent growth), and the Harrier (87 per cent growth). 

Kia Motors is a promising car manufacturer in India. The relatively new brand in India has emerged strong with 171 per cent growth in the country. It sold 18,676 units in September 2020 as compared to 7,754 unit sales in the same period last year. Interestingly, Kia is the only brand to register the highest Year-on-Year (YoY) growth in sales in September 2020. In addition to being the bestseller for the company, the Kia Sonet is also the highest-selling compact SUV in India last month. The Seltos continues to perform well in its segment with 9,079 unit sales last month as compared to 7,754 unit sales in September 2019, thereby registering 17 per cent growth in sales. 

The popular utility vehicle manufacturer, Mahindra registers five per cent growth in sales with 14,664 unit sales in August 2020 as compared to 13,964 unit sales in September 2019. Some of the key contributors to the overall sales are Bolero (39 per cent growth), Marazzo (Five per cent growth), and the XUV300 (48 per cent growth). 

Other car manufacturers like Honda has witnessed 9.7 per cent growth in India last month with Amaze (12 per cent growth), Jazz (15 per cent growth), and the City (49 per cent growth) being the key contributors to the overall sales. Renault has registered 5.5 per cent growth in sales in September 2020 with Renault’s Kwid and the Triber being key contributors to cumulative sales. Ford has witnessed 3.8 per cent growth in sales last month with the Aspire, EcoSport, and the Freestyle being popular sellers for the company. Skoda has registered 6.4 per cent growth in sales with the Rapid and the Superb being the strong sellers for the company. 

Carmakers like Toyota, MG, Volkswagen, Nissan, and FCA have witnessed a marginal drop in sales in India last month. With the onset of the festive season, we expect to see a significant improvement in car sales. Additionally, car manufacturers are also likely to introduce lucrative festive season offers to boost sales.