MUMBAI: Homegrown auto major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) is now eyeing the number 2 spot in the Indian passenger vehicle (PV) market as its September 2024 domestic sales were just 39 units lower than Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL). Last month, M&M dispatched 51,062 PVs (up 24% year-on-year) from its facilities to retail showrooms while HMIL dispatched 51,101 units (down 6% year-on-year).
The difference between the two carmakers was about 13,000 units a year back in September 2023 as Hyundai had dispatched 54,241 cars and Mahindra’s wholesales were at 41,267 units.
September 2024 is also the first month when the Thar SUV maker surpassed the 50,000 monthly wholesales milestone. M&M is also the only player among the top 4 carmakers to log growth as others registered a decline due to subdued demand in the inauspicious Shraddh period which started on 17th September and is continuing till 2nd of October.
Tata Motors, which not long ago was giving a tough challenge to Hyundai for number 2 spot reported a decline of 8% in September 2024 sales to 41,063 units.
“No other carmaker is capitalising on the SUV wave as good as Mahindra. They have delivered one blockbuster product after another. We expect Mahindra to log similar growth in the coming months as well. While Hyundai is doing well to keep its dispatches above the 50K mark, it is Tata Motors which is struggling at the moment,” said a senior analyst who tracks the automobile sector at a brokerage firm.
Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles said that Tata Motors posted wholesales of 130,753 units in the second quarter of FY25, a decline of 6% compared to Q2 FY24, as they readjusted wholesales to lower-than-expected retails, to keep channel inventory under control. He added that registrations picked up pace towards the end of the month which augurs well for the festive period ahead.
India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) reported wholesales of 144,962 units in September 2024, a decline of 3.9%. Total PV wholesales in the Indian market is likely to have declined by nearly 2% year-on-year to 3,57,500 units last month. This is the third straight month when car PV dispatches registered a decline.
Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales at MSIL said that good traction was seen during Ganesh Chaturthi and Janmashtami, and MSIL was able to do the numbers as per their business requirements.
He informed that Chingam was there from the 16th of August to the 16th of September and if they take the two months because last year Onam was in the month of August and compare it with the last year, same period, August and September, there was a growth of 14% in customer inquiries, booking there was a growth of 11% and in retail, till now MSIL seen a growth of 5%.