Automakers see slight growth in domestic sales after three months, driven by festive sales

After a gap of three months, carmakers in the local market reported a small uptick in dispatches, albeit on a high base, as consumers drove home vehicles during the festive period in October, spurting retails and bringing down inventory at dealerships. As per data released by industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), as many as 393,238 vehicles were dispatched from factories to dealerships, compared to 389,714 units sold in the corresponding period of the last financial year.

Even though the sales growth rate last month was modest, in absolute volumes this is the highest-ever sales reported in the passenger vehicle segment for the month October in the country.

Most major manufacturers from Maruti Suzuki to Hyundai Motor India, Tata Motors and Hero MotoCorp posted record retail sales last month, which helped bring down stocks in the network. Industry executives expect the momentum to continue due to the wedding season in November.

Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM said,

“October 2024 saw two major festivals Dussehra and Diwali, both occurring in the same month, which traditionally drive higher consumer demand providing a significant boost to auto industry’s performance.”

Passenger Vehicles posted its highest ever sales of October in 2024 of 3.93 Lakh units, with a growth of 0.9%, albeit on a high base of last October, Menon confirmed.

Sales of two-wheelers too posted highest- ever sales of October in 2024 at 21.64 Lakh units. This is a growth of 14.2%, compared to October 2023.

“This high growth was also reflected in the Vahan vehicle registration data, wherein more than 30% growth in registration was witnessed for both Passenger Vehicles and Two-Wheelers in October 2024, compared to October 2023”, Menon informed.

Wholesales of three-wheelers declined marginally by 0.7% to 76,770 units in the period under review. Retail sales of three-wheelers grew by 11% over the year-ago period.