Auto Sales in August 2022: Buoyed by festive season, vehicle dispatches grow across segments

New Delhi: August brings a sense of joy across the country, as it is also synonymous with the beginning of the festive season across the states of India.

In August 2021, the country was slowly moving out of the COVID-induced lockdown challenges, but the vehicle demand-supply balance was unequal. The long-standing semiconductor shortages were severely impacting the production schedules.

One year later, the industry has seen the supply side constraints waning gradually and production levels improving. August 2022 also observed occasions like Raksha Bandhan, Janmashtami, Hartalika Teej and Ganesh Chaturthi. In order to create excitement among the consumers, most OEMs are also focused on launching new models, vehicle facelifts, or introducing special editions of the existing lineup during this time.

Going forward, September brings Onam and Navratri. In October, India will celebrate Durga Puja, Dussehra, Dhanteras, Diwali, and Bhai Dooj. With the anticipation of festive season sales, which accounts for about 40% of the industry’s overall volumes, OEMs are likely to build up inventory at the dealerships in the upcoming months.

The following is a segment-wise report of vehicle dispatches to dealers during August 2022.

Passenger Vehicles

Most OEMs witnessed a growth in year-on-year sales, however on a sequential basis, the top three carmakers reported a decline.

Domestic sales for car market leader Maruti Suzuki India were up 30% to 1.34 lakh units over the corresponding period of last year. On a sequential basis, its sales were down from 1.42 units in July 2022.

The company reported a year-on-year growth for its mini (Alto, S-Presso) and compact (Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift, Tour S, WagonR) car categories. Sales for its utility vehicles (Brezza, Ertiga, S-Cross, XL6) and Eeco van was also up, however mid-size Ciaz witnessed a decline in domestic sales compared to August 2021.

“The shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production of vehicles, mainly in domestic models,” the maker of Alto and WagonR said.

In July 2022, Hyundai recorded 50,500 unit sales in the domestic market. In August this year, sales stood at 49,510 units.

However, Tarun Garg, Director (Sales, Marketing and Service), Hyundai Motor India, said, “With the continuously improving semiconductor situation, supplies continue to go up enabling us to serve our customers with their car in the festival season that has kicked off in India with Ganesh Chaturthi and Onam.”

Tata Motors reported sales of 47,166 units during the month, including 43,321 units of ICE vehicles and 3,845 EVs. On a month-on-month basis, the maker of Nexon reported a decline both for its ICE and EV sales. In July 2022, the carmaker had crossed the 4,000-mark for its electric car sales.

Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Kia India reported a growth in domestic wholesales, when compared to August 2021 and July 2022.

Veejay Nakra, President, Automotive Division, M&M, said, “August was very exciting with launches across many segments for us. We registered the highest ever SUV volume of 29,516 in August, registering a growth of 87% over August 2021. The supply chain situation continues to remain dynamic for select product lines and we are taking appropriate actions to minimize impact.”

Kia, which has marked its position in the Top 5 carmakers in the country, said its Seltos led the monthly sales with 8,652 units, followed by Sonet at 7,838 units, Carens at 5,558 units and Carnival at 274 units, respectively.

Hardeep Singh Brar, Vice President and Head of Sales & Marketing, Kia India, said, “We have been observing upward sales momentum since the beginning of this year, and it is a good sign for the Indian automotive market.”

“Comparing the quarters, our monthly average so far for Q3 of 2022 stands at 7.8% over Q2 and 10.9% over Q1 of this year, indicating gradual improvement in supply chain constraints and healthy consumer sentiment. With the demand and supply curve staying positive, we are optimistic that an excellent festive season in terms of sales is ahead of us,” he said.

Meanwhile, carmakers like Maruti Suzuki and Toyota Kirloskar Motor are set to launch their Grand Vitara and Hyryder SUVs respectively during this festive season. Hyundai will be introducing Venue N-Line this week. Mahindra has already brought the Scorpio-N and the Scorpio Classic, Kia has launched a new trim of its Sonet SUV and MG has brought an upgraded Gloster. Tata Motors and Renault have introduced special edition models to create excitement in the market.

Yuichi Murata, Director- Marketing and Sales, Honda Cars India, said, “The demand momentum continues to be strong, which is very encouraging and positive for the auto industry as we enter the festive season.”

However, Honda said that on the supply side it continues to face hurdles arising out of global chip shortage, which is affecting production volumes and resulting in extended waiting periods for models.

Czech carmaker Skoda Auto said that in its over 20 year legacy in India, it has sold the largest number of cars in 2022, touching 37,568 total sales, with more than a quarter yet to go. The previous best by the company was 34,678 units sold in 2012.

Klaus Zellmer, CEO, Skoda Auto, said, “We have recorded our biggest year ever in India within the first eight months of 2022. These outstanding results have enabled India to rank among the top three markets for Skoda Auto globally in the first half of this year. A big contribution to fulfilling our global ambitions is coming from India. We are well on track to more than double our sales in 2022 over last year.”

Two-wheelers

During August 2022, the two-wheeler makers across the segment witnessed a growth in wholesales both on a month-on-month basis and when compared to August 2021.

Hero MotoCorp said it expects the momentum to build up in the coming months on account of a combination of factors, including a healthy growth in the country’s GDP, a normal festive season after a gap of two years, better monsoon resulting in decent agricultural harvest and positive consumer sentiments.

On a year-on-year basis, total motorcycle sales of the company grew to 430,799 units in August 2022 compared to 420,609 units in the same month of last year, but scooter sales dropped to 31,809 units as against 33,270 units.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) reported a growth of 5% year-on-year. Even on a sequential basis, its domestic sales was up 5% from 4.02 lakh units.

Atsushi Ogata, Managing Director, President & CEO, HMSI, said, “Market performance is gaining steady momentum against the previous month as well as on year-on-year basis. Welcoming the festive season with an exciting range of products across verticals, we are confident that the celebrations will be amplified further with attractive finance schemes available across our touchpoints.”

TVS said that with positive market sentiments and the upcoming festive season, the company is optimistic about the demand in the domestic two-wheeler market.

“As the availability of semiconductors has supported in reaching a balanced supply chain, the company is now geared up to swiftly meet the festive demand,” it said.

With the festive season approaching, Suzuki Motorcycles also said that the company is looking forward to an overall positive market scenario in terms of demand and supply.

Satoshi Uchida, Managing Director, Suzuki Motorcycle India, said, “Considering the gradual improvement in the availability of semiconductors, we are confident that the company will be able to retain this sales momentum.”

Commercial vehicles and three-wheelers

The segment was in green. Even on a sequential basis, all the OEMs registered a growth momentum, except the market leader Tata Motors.

For Tata, major portion of sales in the domestic market comes from the SCV cargo and pickup category clocking 14,181 units in August 2022. This was followed by 8,727 units of M&HCVs, 4,106 units of I&LCV along with 2,299 units of passenger carriers.

Mahindra clocks majority of its sale from LCV category of 2T to 3.5T, which stood at 16,940 units during August 2022. Total three wheeler sales for the company were at 4,793 units and LCVs less than 2T category at 3,896 units. LCVs over 3.5T and M&HCV together reported sales of 656 units.

Tractors

Hemant Sikka, President- Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra, said, “Monsoon has been overall positive with 8% higher than LPA. However the spatial distribution has been deficient in key paddy states of eastern India, thus impacting paddy sowing.”

“We are optimistic that tractor purchases on auspicious days in the festive season will lead to revival in demand, as farmers start preparation for harvesting operations. We are preparing for strong tractor demand in the festive season,” he said.

The company exported 1,382 tractors during the month.

(This is a developing story. We will keep updating the numbers as the OEMs release their sales data).

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