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Ankur Sachdev

Market Share of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Plunge, Indian Automobile Retail Sale Surge

Updated: Nov 22

The automobile industry in India had a target of selling 45 lakh automobiles during the 42-day festive period in India, that is Bharat. The industry missed it by a small margin but is confident about rebounding the next time. The Indian automobile industry sold 42,88,248 units during the said festive time, up by 12% yearly. Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai, however, saw their market share plunge to the lowest in the last 12 years.

Market Share of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Plunge
Image: Unspalsh; Market Share of Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Plunge

For reference, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) defines the 42-day festive period in India as a window that starts from Navratri and concludes 15 days after Dhanteras. This is when the automobile industry sees a heavy inflow of customers, their demands, and thereby, purchases.


The original set target was 45,00,000 (45 lakhs) as highlighted by the FADA. It is believed that some of the external factors may have played a role here. These include unseasonal rains in the Southern part of India and Cyclone Dana in Odisha. Both natural calamities occurred at a time when customers visit automobile showrooms to purchase their favorite vehicles.


FADA recognized that some positive factors also helped them achieve big numbers. A higher demand from the rural part of the country, heavy discounts, and general demand from across India. The numbers mentioned here have been compiled from data from 1,368 Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) out of 1,430 RTOs. There is a gap but chances are that the overall trend is largely the same even if remaining RTOs are taken into consideration.


When there is a mention of the automobile segment, it is important to note that it includes passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles together. Not just four-wheelers, it also entails two-wheelers and three-wheelers.

Amid these highs and lows are Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai facing a new challenge. Both long-standing players in the automobile industry in India recorded a decline through the first half of FY25 in their market share by the highest margin in the last 12 years. It is safe to assume that their numbers have plummeted from a decent high; however, the fall reflects a trend that would force both automobile giants to consider what they bring next to the market.


There is a significant shift in consumer preferences across the Indian automobile industry. Call it a convenient availability of financial assistance or an increase in disposable income, customers are now more inclined to purchase automobiles that are rich in features, versatile, and a newer addition to the line-up, or an upgraded version of their current automobile.


Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai have not stopped innovating. They could only be falling behind their competitors like Mahindra, TATA, and Toyota in terms of the pace of development. All of them recorded an increase in their sales. For instance, Mahindra is at an all-time high in the SUV segment with a market share of 12.5% in the first half of FY25. TATA Motors has come down while maintaining an edge with a market share of 13.3% in the first half of FY25. The decline is reportedly credited to the fall of 1% in exports on a year-to-year basis.

Sale of passenger vehicles - bus, auto, & car - surged by 0.9% in October 2024. The total number of units sold was 3,93,238 in the last month.


Sales of passenger vehicles soared by 7% to 6,03,009 during the festive period. Sales of 2-wheelers rose by 14% to 33,11,325 amid a strong rural demand. Sales of commercial vehicles grew by 1% to 1,28,738. A decline of 2% in the tractor segment is estimated to be reversed by the time the next report is published.

 

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