Chip woes continue to impact car dispatches; Tata Motors, Mahindra buck trend

Chip woes impacted car dispatches in India last month, as sales data revealed by the automakers such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Honda. However, Tata Motors, MG Motor, Skoda and Mahindra were able to buck the trend, as they have reported their respective sales numbers in February 2022.

The majority of automakers have witnessed a drop in vehicle dispatches to dealers last month owing to the production delay due to the global semiconductor crisis. The four carmakers including Tata Motors, Skoda, MG Motors and Mahindra reported a surge in sales last month, as compared to February 2021.

Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday announced that its domestic sales slumped 8.46 per cent last month to 140,035 units as compared to 152,983 units registered in February 2021. The carmaker said that the shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production of vehicles, which are primarily sold in the domestic market.

Hyundai Motor India reported a 14.6 per cent drop in domestic sales to 44,050 units last month as against 51,600 units recorded in February 2021. The South Korean auto giant blamed the semiconductor shortage for this dip in sales numbers. Toyota Kirloskar Motor too registered a 38 per cent decline in its domestic sales to 8,745 units in February.

Honda Cars India reported a 23 per cent decline in domestic wholesales to 7,187 units last month. Honda Cars India Director (Marketing and Sales) Yuichi Murata said that the ongoing chip shortage impacted its production and dispatches in February 2022.

Among the automakers that were able to buck this trend, Tata Motors reported a 47 per cent increase in passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market in February. It recorded 39,981 units last month as compared to 27,225 units in the same month last year. Similarly, Mahindra said that its passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market soared by 80 per cent to 27,663 units last month as compared to 15,391 units in February 2021. Mahindra said that its SUVs recorded a whopping 79 per cent growth last month, resulting in the highest-ever monthly volume.

Skoda Auto India recorded over five-fold surge in sales to 4,503 units in February 2022, riding on the success of its mid-sized SUV Kushaq. MG Motor India claimed that its retail sales increased five per cent year-on-year to 4,528 units in February.