Car sales in India hit slow lane in June, SUVs stay in front

India's passenger vehicle wholesales in June witnessed a muted growth as the segment registered a marginal uptick in numbers. The Indian passenger vehicle market recorded about four per cent of marginal sales growth in June this year, despite the rising demand for SUVs, MPVs and crossovers across the country. Overall passenger vehicle wholesales in the country last month stood at 340,784 units, marking a growth of 3.67 per cent compared to 328,710 units registered in the same month a year ago.

Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai & Tata record nearly flat sales

Maruti Suzuki announced that its passenger vehicle domestic sales in stood at 137,160 units last month compared to 133,027 units in the year-ago month, recording a marginal three per cent growth. Sales of the small cars, including the Alto K10 and S-Presso declined to 9,395 units last month from 14,054 units in June 2023.

In the compact car segment too, where Maruti Suzuki offers models like Swift, Dzire, Celerio, Baleno and WagonR; numbers dropped marginally at 64,049 units last month against 64,471 units registered in June 2023. However, utility vehicles like Brezza, Grand Vitara, Ertiga and XL6 clocked 52,373 units in June 2024, registering a surge from 43,404 units sold a year earlier.

The second biggest carmaker in India, Hyundai too posted flat sales last month at 50,103 units, as compared to 50,001 units sold in the year-ago period. Another key player, Tata Motors registered 43,624 units in June this year, down from 47,359 units sold a year ago, marking about an eight per cent decline.

What went wrong?

This muted sales growth for the Indian passenger vehicle market comes at a time when several factors played their respective and significant roles. One of them is certainly the parliament election that concluded in early June. Uncertainties around the government formation along with other factors played a key role in determining the sales.

Another factor is related to the climate. Heat waves marred several regions of the country in June, which pushed back many consumers from stepping into the car showrooms. Apart from that the decreased pent-up demand and high base effect also played their respective roles in keeping the wholesale numbers low.

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