India’s passenger vehicle sales jump 35% to 4.5 lakh in August as Maruti, M&M drive growth

New Delhi: Passenger vehicle sales in India are estimated to have risen around 35 per cent to about 4.5 lakh units in August, riding on the back of robust growth posted by the likes of Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Mahindra & Mahindra.

The automotive industry continues to benefit from the momentum generated by last year's GST rate cut, income tax benefit and repo rate cuts and is entering the festive season with optimism, Maruti Suzuki India Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, Partho Banerjee told reporters in a conference call.

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"Industry is expected to be around 4.5 lakhs plus-minus maybe 2,000 to 3,000 units in August this year...Last year, the number was around 3.3 lakh units," he said.

On the growth drivers for the industry, Banerjee said, "The three tailwinds are there. One is the GST 2.0, other is the repo rate reduction, which led to the reduction in the EMI, and the third thing was the income tax exemption (on incomes up to Rs 12 lakh)."

Market leader Maruti Suzuki India reported 34.8 per cent rise in its domestic sales to 1,76,971 units last month from 1,31,278 units in the year-ago month.

Banerjee said the company has pending bookings to the tune of almost 1.8 lakh by the end of August with the newly launched compact SUV Brezza alone accounting for 30,000 units.

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When asked about the festive season outlook, he said there is optimism and for the ongoing fiscal, the expectation is 10 per cent growth, although in the second half the high base effect will kick in.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd (TMPVL) also posted robust domestic passenger vehicle sales at 65,253 units last month as compared to 41,001 units in August 2025, a growth of 59 per cent.

Another homegrown major, Mahindra & Mahindra posted a 50 per cent jump in its domestic PV sales at 59,257 units in August as against 39,399 units in the same month last year.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd said its domestic sales were at 54,396 units, up 23.6 per cent from the year-ago month, with company MD & CEO Tarun Garg stating that its August 2026 domestic sales figure was the highest-ever for any August.

Its sibling Kia India reported a 48.1 per cent growth in wholesales at 29,042 units in August 2026, as against 19,608 units in the same month last year, marking its best-ever August wholesale performance since inception.

"Our strong performance in August reflects the continued trust of our customers and the relevance of our evolving product portfolio," said Kia India Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Atul Sood.

Another automaker JSW MG Motor India reported a 14 per cent year-on-year rise in August wholesales at 7,508 units, while Nissan Motor India said its domestic wholesales recorded a 147.5 per cent YoY growth at 3,426 units in August as compared to 1,384 units in the corresponding month a year ago.