Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai record single-digit sales growth in July

Utility vehicle sales clocked a two-fold jump last month.

Maruti Suzuki India and Hyundai reported single-digit sales growth in July with the sports utility segment continuing to drive overall demand in the market.

Mahindra & Mahindra witnessed a 29 per cent increase in passenger vehicle dispatches while Tata Motors saw a marginal increase in the wholesales last month.

Maruti Suzuki on Tuesday said its total domestic passenger vehicle sales stood at 1,52,126 units last month as compared to 1,42,850 units in the year-ago month, a growth of 6 per cent.

Utility vehicles, consisting of Brezza, Ertiga, Fronx, Grand Vitara, Jimny and XL6, clocked sales of 62,049 units last month, a two-fold jump as against 23,272 units dispatched in the year-ago period.

The company led the SUV space last month with sales volume of 46,620 units. The segment accounted for 49.1 per cent of the overall passenger vehicle sales.

However, Maruti Suzuki saw sales of mini segment cars, comprising Alto and S-Presso, dip to 9,590 units last month as against 20,333 units in July 2022.

Sales of compact cars, including Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, and Swift, fell 21 per cent to 67,102 units as compared to 84,818 units in the year-ago period.

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Rival Hyundai reported a marginal increase in domestic sales at 50,701 units last month from 50,500 units in the year-ago period.

"Our domestic July sales volume of 50,000 plus units is backed by a strong SUV portfolio. This has been bolstered by the addition of Exter to an already strong SUV line-up," Hyundai Motor India COO Tarun Garg said.

With the semiconductor supply issues more or less behind, the automaker is all geared up for the upcoming festive season in India starting with Onam in Kerala, he added.

Tata Motors reported a marginal increase in its passenger vehicle dispatches last month at 47,628 units.

Mahindra and Mahindra saw a 29 per cent jump in passenger vehicle sales in July.

The Mumbai-based automaker's wholesales rose to 36,205 units in July from 28,053 units in the year-ago period.

"We are excited to clock the highest-ever SUV domestic sales of 36,205 units in a month. The XUV700 tribe grew to 1 lakh strong, in a record time of 20 months.

"Also in July, the Scorpio brand achieved the highest sales in a month since its launch," Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Automotive Division President Veejay Nakra said.

The company continues to see robust demand for its key brands, he added.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) reported its best-ever monthly sales in July at 21,911 units. Last month, the company's domestic wholesales stood at 20,759 units, while exports accounted for 1,152 units.

TKM previously posted its best monthly wholesales in May 2023 by selling 20,410 units.

MG Motor said its retail sales grew by 25 per cent to 5,012 units in July. The company had sold 4,013 units in July 2022.

The automaker said EV sales accounted for 34 per cent of the total sales last month.

In the two-wheeler segment, Bajaj Auto reported a 2 per cent drop in its domestic sales in July at 1,79,263 units from 1,82,956 units in July 2022.

Suzuki Motorcycle India said it sold 80,309 units in the domestic market in July.

Royal Enfield reported a 42 per cent increase in domestic sales at 66,062 units last month as against 46,529 units in July 2022.

"We've begun the second quarter on a strong note, after stellar performance in the first quarter of this year. We are preparing for some big launches in the forthcoming months, and continue to focus on our strategic long term goals," Royal Enfield CEO B Govindarajan said.