Auto Wholesales in October 2022: YoY dispatches in green; sequential decline across PVs, 2Ws

New Delhi: The easing of supply chain constraints helped OEMs increase production and wholesales in October 2022. This time, last year, the unprecedented semiconductor shortage, fuel price hike, increase in input costs, and the consequent vehicle price rise marred the October sales. Thus, the low base of last year has also contributed to the wholesale figures this October being higher and in the green.

However, on a sequential basis, vehicle dispatches for passenger vehicles (PVs) and two wheelers (2Ws) were less than in September, the month of the beginning of the auspicious period of Navaratri on 26th, followed by Dussehra and culminating in Diwali on October 24. Hence September had the highest wholesale dispatches for inventory building in anticipation of a good festive demand, after two years of the pandemic disruption.

The following is a segment-wise report of vehicle dispatches during October 2022.

Passenger vehicles

The overall demand for passenger vehicles remain robust, especially for the SUV category of vehicles. The entry-level segment is expected to be a cause of concern going forward.

Recently, RC Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki said, it is expected that the hatchback sector will still continue to show de-growth next year but (PV) industry as a whole in the country will have a growth rate, which looking at all the parameters today, could be somewhere around 8%.

“This quarter too, the hatchback segment has found growth. I think that is limited to this festival season. I don’t expect that hatchback growth to continue, subsequent to this quarter or in the next year,” he said.

For October 2022, Maruti Suzuki reported a YoY growth of 29% in its domestic dispatches while it dropped 5% on a MoM basis. The company dispatched 1.40 lakh units in October this year, down from 1.48 lakh units in September.

The passenger car sales for the company increased to 100,505 units as against 71,590 units reported in the year-ago period.

Within the category, sales of compact cars (Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift, Tour S, WagonR) were up to 73,685 units from 48,690 units registered in October 2021. Sales for mid-size Ciaz were also up at 1,884 units in October 2022 as against 1,069 units last year. However, sales of mini cars (Alto, S-Presso) dropped to 24,936 units in October this year, compared to 21,831 units in the month last year.

Maruti’s utility vehicle segment (Brezza, Ertiga, S-Cross, XL6, Grand Vitara) also reported a growth at 30,971 units during the month under review, up from 27,081 units in October 2021.

Hyundai dispatched about 48,001 vehicles during the month, down from 49,700 dispatched during September. However, the company said it is set to register record domestic sales volume in CY 2022.

Tarun Garg, Director (Sales, Marketing & Service), Hyundai Motor India, said that with an improvement in the semiconductor situation, the company was able to meet the demand during the festive season in October.

Tata Motors, just behind Hyundai by less than 3000 vehicles, also reported a MoM drop in wholesales. In September, it dispatched 47,654 units to the dealers.

Total electric vehicle (EV) sales for the maker of Nexon, including domestic and exports stood at 4,277 units in October 2022, up from 1,660 units in October 2021. However, the company did not share the domestic EV sales figures for the month separately.

Veejay Nakra, President, Automotive Division, M&M, said, “Our sales volume continued to grow in October on the back of strong festive demand. We sold 32,226 SUVs in October, registering a growth of 61% fuelled by robust demand across our portfolio.”

According to Kia, its best-selling model Seltos led the company’s sales graph with 9,777 units during October, followed by Sonet and Carens MPV with 7,614 and 5,479 units respectively. The company sold 301 units of Carnival and 152 units of EV6.

The South Korean automaker said it has crossed the 2 lakh sales mark in the first 10 months of the CY 2022, marking a growth over the total sales figure of 181,583 units in CY 2021.

Hardeep Singh Brar, Vice President and Head of Sales & Marketing, Kia India, said, “We have already crossed the 2 lakh sales mark in CY 2022 and with two months still remaining, we are confident of ending the year on an unprecedented high.”

MG Motor said it was able to enhance production due to “some improvement in semiconductor supplies through localisation initiatives. “The coming weeks should hopefully see some more improvement,” it said.

Petr Solc, Brand Director, Skoda Auto India, said the company is very confident of closing the year on a high, with more than doubling its annual sales as compared to 2021.

Two-wheelers

The two wheeler segment which has seen improvement over time, is yet to fully come out of the woods. Country’s largest two wheeler maker, Hero MotoCorp was in the red during October 2022 reporting a decline of 16% in YoY dispatches for the month. The maker of Splendor noted that the festivals of Dussehra and Diwali – which triggers record retail buying – occurred in the month of October this year. Due to this, the dispatch sales of October are not comparable to the previous years, when the festival days were spread across October and November.

On a sequential basis, its dispatched dropped to 4.42 lakh units in October 2022 from 5.07 lakh units in September this year.

“A strong festive season has also helped reduce post-festive total inventory to the lowest in the previous 5 years. This augurs well for growth in the second half of the year,” said the two wheeler maker.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) reported a growth of 8% YoY. However, MoM sales were down at 4.25 lakh units in October this year, from 4.88 lakh units in September.

It may also be noted that the second largest two wheeler maker is inching closer to the market leader every passing month . During October 2022, it is just behind Hero by less than 20,000 units.

Atsushi Ogata, Managing Director, President & CEO, HMSI, said, “This year’s festival season has ushered in a period of real growth and positive sentiment after a challenging period of two-years. With celebrations in full swing and a strong growth prospect for the coming times, we are truly elated to witness such strong demand pouring in from the market.”

Bajaj Auto which dispatched 2.06 lakh units in October this year, also reported a drop from 2.22 lakh units in September.

Suzuki Motorcycle India, the two wheeler subsidiary of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Japan, also saw a dip in monthly dispatches to 69,634 units in October from 72,012 units in September.

Commercial vehicles and three-wheelers

The market leader in the commercial vehicle segment, Tata Motors reported domestic sales at similar number as last year. Its sales in the passenger carrier category reported the highest YoY growth to 1,759 units in October this year, up from 958 units in the year-ago period. However, a major portion of its sales that come from SCV cargo and pickup dropped 8% YoY to 15,618 units in October 2022, from 17,025 units in October last year.

Domestic sales of Bajaj Auto, the market leader in the three-wheeler segment, crossed 35,000 units, marking a YoY growth along with a sequential growth, moving up from 31,752 units in September 2022.

For October 2022, Ashok Leyland dispatched 8,189 units f M&HCVs and 5,671 units of LCVs in the domestic market.

Tractors

Hemant Sikka, President – Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra, said, “Festive season kept the spirits high and led to very strong momentum in demand for tractors and farm machinery.”

According to him, the recent government announcement of higher MSP for key Rabi crops, good moisture content in the soil, high reservoir levels and good progress in sowing for Rabi crops are all positives for continued good demand for tractors in the coming months.

Festive demand was good led by above normal monsoon and higher water reservoirs level. For the coming Rabi season all macro-economic factors remain favourable for the industry. However, overhang of unabsorbed commodities inflation remains a concern, said a company statement from Escorts Kubota.

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

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