Auto makers post strong sales ahead of festive season

New Delhi: Auto makers posted strong double-digit growth in September sales, as they ramped up dispatches from factories anticipating robust demand in the festive period.

According to industry estimates, car manufacturers dispatched as many as 460,000 hatchbacks, sedans and utility vehicles to dealerships last month, about 21% more compared with 378,000 units a year earlier.

Market leader Maruti Suzuki outperformed the industry, with sales growing 37% to 181,838 units.


Also read: Nissan Motor September sales down 5% to 10,025 units

Demand remains strong as the country heads into the festive season, said Partho Banerjee, Maruti Suzuki’s senior executive officer for marketing and sales. “We do not see any headwinds and expect demand to remain strong, as far as we are concerned, this festive season,” he said. The company’s stock is enough to meet only 17 days of sales, he said.

There are primarily three tailwinds at work buoying demand: the reduction in GST rates from late September last year, the policy rate cuts that lowered interest rates and income tax relief to those earning up to Rs 11 lakh per annum, he said.

Tata Motors posted a 15% increase in passenger vehicle sales to 68,810 units last month. At local rival Mahindra & Mahindra, sales rose 14% to 64,092 units.

Also read: Hero MotoCorp total dispatches at 7.66 lakh vehicles in September, up 12%

Despite being a traditionally soft quarter, passenger vehicle demand during the July-September period sustained the strong momentum seen after the GST 2.0 reform, said Shailesh Chandra, managing director and chief executive officer at Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles.

Industrywide, volumes, as per data from the government’s Vahan portal, grew around 24% in the quarter from a year earlier, “led by increasing adoption of greener powertrains, providing a promising backdrop for the forthcoming festive season”, he said.

Hyundai Motor reported an 11% increase in wholesale volume to 57,166 units in the local market.

Including exports, sales in the past month rose 10.8% to 77,916 units, the highest ever for a month for the Indian unit of the Korean automaker, Hyundai Motor India MD and CEO Tarun Garg said. “Going ahead, we are expecting sustained customer enthusiasm during the festive season,” he said.

At Kia India, sales volume rose 41% to 32,017 units in September.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Renault, however, posted lower sales with an 8% and a 20% fall, respectively.

In the commercial vehicle segment, demand remained healthy, with market leader Tata Motors posting a 31% increase in volumes to 43,487 units in September. Girish Wagh, MD and CEO of Tata Motors, said the growth registered last quarter was broad-based, reflecting healthy demand across the economy.

Rivals Ashok Leyland posted 29% growth to 22,157 units. At VE Commercial Vehicles, sales of Eicher trucks rose 57.5% to 10,479 units.

Looking ahead, commodity costs remain a significant concern, industry executives said. Diesel prices, potential interest rate hikes and global uncertainties are key monitorables, they said.

“While the high H2 base could moderate growth rates, industry fundamentals remain supportive,” Wagh said.

In the two-wheeler segment, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India posted a 26% increase in sales to 636,768 units last month. At Chennai-based TVS Motor Co, two-wheeler sales grew 17% to 482,073 units. Bajaj Auto, though, saw a decline of 12%, selling 239,771 units last month in the local market. At the premium end of the market, Royal Enfield reported 7% growth, selling 121,326 units.

In the farm equipment segment, market leader Mahindra saw tractor sales decline 23% to 50,208 units last month. Veejay Nakra, president of the company’s Farm Equipment Business, said: “The year-on-year decline in volumes is primarily attributable to the festive season shift, commencing in October this year, as compared with September last year. The comparison is also impacted by a higher base in September 2025, which benefited from the implementation of the GST rate cut during the period.”