Carmakers kick off 2024 with a bang, selling nearly 4 lakh cars in January

Automobile makers in the country started the New Year on a positive note with most players across segments reporting higher sales volume in January compared to the same month last year.

Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Motors, Hyundai Motor India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto and Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India reported growth in sales in the month.

Maruti Suzuki India's total vehicle sales increased by 15.5 per cent at 1,99,364 units in January from 1,72,535 units in the same month last year, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

This was the highest ever monthly sales volume for the Gurugram-based car maker, which saw total domestic sales logging 13 per cent growth at 1,70,214 vehicles against 1,51,367 units in the month year earlier.

Tata Motors was the second largest vehicle seller in India in January with total domestic sales of 84,276 units last month against 79,681 units in January 2023. Its total vehicle sales (including international markets) rose by 6 per cent year-on-year to 86,125 units for January 2024.

SUV major Mahindra & Mahindra's total vehicle sales jumped 15 per cent year-on-year at 73,944 units in January.

The utility vehicle sales for the company stood at 43,068 units in the previous month from 32,915 vehicles sold in January last year, growing 31 per cent year-on-year.

Hyundai Motor India reported an 8.5 per cent rise in wholesales to 67,615 units in January. The automaker had dispatched 62,276 units in the same month last year.

Domestic sales saw an increase of 14 per cent to 57,115 units last month from 50,106 units in the year-ago period.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor also witnessed its highest monthly sales with 24,609 dispatches in January, up a massive 92 per cent from 12,835 vehicles in the same month last year.

“The company’s MPV and SUV offerings continue to be our greatest strength with major contributions from the Innova Hycross, Urban Cruiser Hyryder, Innova Crysta, Fortuner and the Legender," Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) Vice President, Sales-Service-Used Car Business Sabari Manohar said in a statement

Other offerings such as the Camry Hybrid, Glanza, Hilux, Vellfire and the Rumion too have fuelled the company's growth story, he added.

TKM said it has temporarily suspended the dispatch of its three models Innova Crysta, Fortuner and Hilux in the country after irregularities were found in the certification tests for the diesel power train.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India logged a whopping 41.50 per cent year-on-year growth in its overall sales at 419,395 units in January.

Of the total sales, domestic volumes rose to 3,82,512 units from 2,78,155 last January, a year-on-year increase of 37 per cent, while exports grew a whopping 102 per cent year-on-year at 36,883 units in the previous month.

Mid-size motorcycle maker Royal Enfield reported a 2 per cent year-on-year growth in its motorcycle sales at 76,187 units in January against a total of 74,746 units in the same month last year.

The domestic sales for the company were up 4 per cent at 70,556 motorcycles last month compared to 67,702 units while exports declined 20 per cent at 5,631 units from 7,044 units in January 2023.

Pune-based Bajaj Auto's total two-wheeler volume (domestic exports) grew 27 per cent year-on-year in January at 308248 units.

The company's overall sales during the previous month were up 24 per cent year-on-year at 356010 units in January.

Bajaj Auto also reported a 12 per cent increase in total exports during the month under review at 125967 units from 112725 vehicles shipped out to overseas markets in January 2023.

However, commercial vehicle maker Ashok Leyland's total sales including exports declined 7 per cent at 15,939 units in January against 17,200 units sold in the same month last year with both MHCV and LCV segments showing a dip in total sales.