NEW DELHI: In another bumper month for domestic automobile industry, domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales stood at more than 3.73 lakh units in February 2024, up 11.3% year-on-year. The growth in sales was again backed by strong demand for sports utility vehicles (SUVs) as the share of mini and compact cars in total PV sales continued to shrink.
During the first 11 months of FY24, PV sales surged to 38.59 lakh units, a growth of 8.6% YoY. Shashank Srivastava, senior executive officer, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki, said positive economic growth remains main driver for the industry. He added that a better supply situation and availability of models in the SUV segment are other key growth factors. He is hopeful that the domestic PV industry will close FY24 at 42.1 lakh units.
Srivastava said rural growth at 11.7% is higher than urban growth of 8% and the trend of rural India clocking a higher growth rate is likely to continue. Maruti reported a 9% growth in February 2024 domestic PV sales at 1,60,271 units as against 1,47,467 units in the month a year ago. Tata Motors took over the second position in February by dispatching 51,321 units, a growth of 19% YoY. Hyundai’s domestic wholesales grew 7% YoY to 50,201 units.
Hyundai Motor India COO Tarun Garg said the company’s SUV sales continue to do well in the domestic market and this segment accounted for 67% of the company’s overall sales in February. Garg also highlighted growth in rural demand.
“In the history of Hyundai India, February 2024 was the first time when rural penetration for us crossed 20% mark… In addition to growing income, growth of infrastructure is improving rural accessibility, prompting people to buy new SUVs,” stated Garg. He added that Hyundai remains cautiously optimistic for the year. “We understand there are concerns related to inflation and geopolitical situation,” he said.
SUV major Mahindra & Mahindra’s PV sales rose 40% to 42,401 units last month. Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported its best-ever monthly wholesales at 25,220 units in February.
In the two-wheeler space, Hero MotoCorp’s wholesales grew 19% to 4,68,410 units. Honda 2-Wheelers reported an 86% increase in total sales at 4,58,711 units. TVS Motor Company said its wholesales rose 33% to 3,68,424 units in February 2024.
