Riding the back of strong passenger vehicle industry sales in April and May 2018, June saw robust sales due to a robust demand for new models. However, volumes were also high due to a low base in June 2017, which had seen a tepid demand, owing to the uncertainty around GST.

Maruti Suzuki is headed for record sales this year selling 1,34,036 units in June to notch 44 percent year-on-year growth as against 93,057 units in the same month, last year. In June, its compact cars – the Swift, the Baleno, the Dzire, the Celerio and the Ignis – together sold 71,570 units, registering a growth of 76.7 percent (June 2017: 40,496). Of these, the new Swift and Dzire remain Maruti’s top grossers, with both cars running in their latest third-generation avatar. The entry-level Alto and Wagon R posted combined sales of 29,381 units in June, posting a growth of 15.1 percent (June 2017: 25,524), bouncing back from the sales decline of May 2018.

Sales of the premium Ciaz sedan, however, continue to decline. The domestic market sales of the Ciaz, which is sold through the Nexa channel, have hit a new low of 1,579 units in June (down 60 percent) compared to sales of 3,950 units in June 2017.

Sales of Maruti vans – Omni and Eeco – grew 32.3 percent to 12,185 units (June 2017: 9208 units). On the UV front, the Gypsy, the Ertiga, the Vitara Brezza and the S-cross sold a total of 19,321 units, posting YoY growth of 39.2 percent (June 2017: 13,879).

Hyundai, the longstanding second-largest carmaker in India has also posted strong sales. The Chennai-based carmaker sold 45,371 units, up 21 percent (June 2017: 37,562). For Q1 FY19 (April-June 2018), cumulative sales are 2,75,136 units, a YoY growth of 8.6 percent (Q1 FY18: 253,428). According to Rakesh Srivastava, director – sales and marketing, “The growth is led by the Grand i10, new Elite i20, the new Creta and Verna.”

A hard-charging Tata Motors, which is seeing a smart uptick in both its PV and CV sales, sold a total of 18,213 units in June 2018 (June 2017: 13,148, SIAM data). This, the company says, is driven by a sustained and strong demand for the Tiago hatchback, Tigor sedan, Hexa crossover and the Nexon compact SUV. June also saw the combined production of Tiago and Tigor cross the 2,00,000-unit milestone. In Q1 FY2019 (April-June 2018), Tata Motors’ cumulative sales of PVs in the domestic market totalled 52,937 units, up 52 percent YoY (Q1 FY2018: 34,858 units). 

For Toyota Kirloskar, volumes were up 563 percent to 13,088 units. Although the new Yaris has given Toyota's sales a shot in the arm, growth was also high due to a low base, last year, following revision of GST rates which took a major toll on the Innova and the Fortuner. Speaking on the company's performance, N Raja, deputy MD, Toyota Kirloskar Motors said, “We have achieved triple-digit growth this month, as compared to June 2017 owing to last year’s GST scenario. The positive growth in the first six months of 2018 over 2017 has been very encouraging.”

Mahindra & Mahindra’s passenger vehicle sales totalled 18,137 units in June 2018, up 12 percent YoY (June 2017: 16,212). Commenting on the performance, Rajan Wadhera, president, Automotive Sector, M&M Ltd. said, “We are happy to have garnered an overall growth of 26 percent for June. We hope that macro conditions such as fuel prices, interest rates and raw material prices remain at satisfactory levels to enable us and the auto industry to grow in the coming months.”

Honda announced sales of 17,602 units, up 37.5 percent year-on-year (June 2017: 12,804). The big contributor to sales last month is the recently launched new Amaze sedan which went home to 9,103 buyers. The carmaker says it has received over 26,000 bookings for the new Amaze since the car’s launch. Rajesh Goel, SVP and director, Marketing and Sales, Honda Cars India said, “The response to the new Amaze has been excellent, giving boost to our June sales performance. We continue to maximise Amaze production to meet the strong demand.” He also went on to say that the early arrival of monsoon across India has prospects of abundant rains; which, in turn, should improve rural spending and boost demand for cars over the next few months.

Ford registered cumulative domestic sales of 8,444 units in June, registering a notable growth of 37 percent (June 2017: 6,149) and reaching the milestone of 1 million domestic wholesales. Between April and June 2018, the company clocked overall sales of 24,941 units, up 21.61 percent (April-June 2017: 20,508).

Although passenger vehicle sales are in a fast lane so far this year, high fuel prices, inflation and interest rates continue to pose a challenge to growth.