Wholesale domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales likely edged up marginally to 3.48 lakh units in July 2025 from 3.44 lakh units in the year-ago month as muted demand and macroeconomic headwinds continued to weigh on the market.
Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), the country's largest carmaker, dispatched (wholesale) 1,37,776 PVs in July, an insignificant increase from 1,37,463 units in the year-ago period. While the company’s compact car sales registered a decent increase, its utility vehicle sales fell 6% year-on-year in July 2025.
MSIL Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales, Partho Banerjee stated that the cost increase due to addition of six airbags as a standard fitment across models has led to some challenges, and efforts are on to work with finance companies to address financing issues.
Banerjee said that sales growth in the rural areas has slowed down to 2-3% as compared to around 10% last year. He added that urban areas were facing challenges due to factors like slowdown in the IT sector and other uncertainties.
Hyundai Motor (HMIL) reported that its domestic sales fell 10% year-on-year to 43,973 units in July 2025. "While the overall auto industry has seen some softness in recent months, we remain optimistic with the onset of the festive season and are fully geared up with robust supply and exciting product offerings," said the company's COO Tarun Garg.
Tata Motors reported a 12% decline in PV dispatches to 39,521 units in July. The company’s EV sales, however, jumped 42% to 7,124 units.
Among the top four carmakers, Mahindra & Mahindra again reported a sharp increase in its SUV sales. Mahindra sold 49,871 utility vehicles in the domestic market, up 20% year-on-year. Kia India reported an 8% year-on-year increase in total sales to 22,135 units in July while Toyota Kirloskar Motor said its sales increased 3% year-on-year to 32,575 units in July.
While some industry experts believe that lower interest rates, declining inflation, a good monsoon and revised income tax slabs could boost demand in the coming months, persistent affordability concerns, especially in the hatchback segment among first-time buyers, continue to dampen car sales.
On the sales outlook, Banerjee noted that the upcoming festival season is expected to be positive with early indicators showing booking growth in Kerala. "The overall market environment is seen as favourable with good monsoon conditions and expectations of increase in MSP," he added.