India’s passenger vehicle market remained on a strong growth path in August 2026, with most carmakers reporting higher sales year on year (YoY). Maruti Suzuki retained the top spot, while Tata Motors remained in second place but widened its lead over Mahindra. Hyundai stayed fourth, and Kia overtook Toyota to round off the top five.
Maruti Suzuki
Sales: 1,76,971 units; Change: 34.8 percent YoY
Maruti Suzuki retained its position as India’s largest carmaker in August, with domestic passenger vehicle sales rising 34.8 percent year on year. Utility vehicles, including the Brezza, Ertiga, e Vitara, Fronx, Grand Vitara, Invicto, Jimny, Victoris and XL6, accounted for 79,045 units, whereas the compact and midsize segments, led by the Baleno, Swift, Dzire and Wagon R, contributed 77,166 units. The mini segment, comprising the Alto and S-Presso, added 8,799 units, while the Eeco contributed 11,961 units.
The carmaker also crossed one million total sales in the first five months of FY2027. Its total August sales, including exports and sales to other OEMs, stood at 2,19,220 units.
Tata Motors
Sales: 65,253 units; Change: 59 percent YoY
Tata Motors retained second place with 65,253 domestic passenger vehicle sales in August, up 59 percent from the same month last year. Electric vehicle sales, including domestic and international volumes, stood at 16,549 units, almost doubling from 8,540 units in August 2025. Tata’s EV sales crossed 16,500 units for the first time in August, with its EV market share at 43.74 percent. The Punch recorded its highest-ever monthly domestic sales, while the Punch EV also recorded its highest monthly sales. Tata also announced a price hike across its passenger vehicle range from September 1.
Mahindra
Sales: 59,257 units; Change: 50 percent YoY
Mahindra remained in third place, recording 59,257 units in August, a 50 percent increase from the 39,399 units sold in the year-ago period. Its overall vehicle sales, including exports, stood at 1,07,648 units, up 42 percent year on year.
During the month, Mahindra launched the updated Scorpio N and BE 6 Sporteq and also introduced its Battery-as-a-Service option for the XEV 9e and XEV 9S.
Hyundai
Sales: 54,396 units; Change: 23.6 percent YoY
Hyundai recorded 54,396 units, up 23.6 percent year on year. The company said this was its highest-ever domestic sales figure for an August. Hyundai has introduced an assured buyback programme for the Creta Electric. It has also announced a price hike of up to 1 percent from September 2026.
Kia
Sales: 29,042 units; Change: 48.1 percent YoY
Kia’s sales surged 48.1 percent last month to 29,042 units from 19,608 units in the year-ago period. These were the carmaker’s highest-ever August dispatches since entering India. The Seltos and Sonet continued to account for a large share of volumes, while the newly launched Syros EV also contributed to the performance.
Toyota
Sales: 28,410 units; Change: -3 percent YoY
Toyota recorded domestic sales of 28,410 units, down 3 percent from 29,302 units a year ago. The company remains optimistic about demand during the upcoming festive season, with the Innova Hycross, Urban Cruiser Hyryder and Glanza continuing to drive sales.
JSW MG Motor India
Sales: 7,508 units; Change: 12.3 percent YoY
JSW MG Motor registered 7,508 units, up 12.3 percent year on year. The company launched the Hector Tomahawk in both EV and PHEV forms during the month. Bookings for both versions are open, while deliveries of the Tomahawk EV are scheduled to begin in September. Test drives and deliveries for the PHEV are scheduled to start in November.
Honda
Sales: 5,385 units; Change: 39.9 percent YoY
Honda recorded domestic sales of 5,385 units in August 2026, up 39.9 percent from 3,850 units in the same month last year. Honda said the growth was driven by festive demand that began with Onam, along with the response to the City and ZR-V. Exports declined 27 percent to 2,123 units, from 2,924 units in August 2025. Honda did not give a reason for the export decline.
Nissan
Sales: 3,426 units; Change: 147 percent YoY
Nissan saw a 147 percent year-on-year surge in domestic wholesale to 3,426 units, and attributed this performance to demand for the Magnite and Gravite, along with the response to the recently launched Tekton. Nissan also began exporting the Tekton to South Africa, Bhutan and Nepal during the month, with the first batch comprising over 1,300 units.
Renault
Sales: 2,842 units; Change: -5.7 percent YoY
Renault’s sales declined 5.7 percent to 2,842 units from 3,015 units in August 2025. Its cumulative domestic dispatches for January-August 2026 stood at 31,979 units, up 47.9 percent from 21,621 units in the same period last year. The company will add another powertrain option to the Triber range with the Triber Turbo, which is scheduled to arrive in late September 2026.
Ajit Dalvi
Uday Singh
