India car sales analysed: May 2020

- Car sales affected due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic

- Car sales in May 2020 cannot be compared to car sales in May 2019 

Late in March 2020, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic brought the country to a standstill. The production facilities and dealerships remained closed for most part of April and the car manufacturers had posted zero car sales in India. After a month long hiatus, the production facilities and the dealerships resumed partial operations in the month of May. Due to limited services last month, carmakers have posted low sales in May. Due to unforeseen market conditions, the sales for May 2020 cannot be compared to the sales figures from the same period last year. 

The country’s largest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki takes the lead in terms of cumulative sales figure in May 2020. The company sold with 13,702 units last month. Interestingly, Maruti Suzuki Ertiga continues to be a popular selling product for the company with 2,353 units sold in May. The Dzire compact sedan as emerged as the second popular model in May with 2,215 unit sales, while the people’s carrier Eeco takes the third spot with 1,617 unit sales. The other popular selling Maruti Suzuki models are - Baleno (1,587 units), Alto (1,506) and the Wagon R (1,199 units).

The country’s largest exporter, Hyundai takes the second place with a cumulative sales figure of 6,883 units in May 2020. The recently launched new-generation Hyundai Creta was the bestselling vehicle for the company last month with 3,212 unit sales. The Venue compact SUV has been the second bestseller with 1,242 units sold in May 2020. The Elite i20 takes the third position with 878 unit sales. 

One of the popular utility car manufacturers in India, Mahindra holds the third place with a cumulative sales figure of 3,745 units in May 2020. The Bolero continues to be a strong seller for the company with 1,715 units sold last month, while XUV300 takes the second position with 1,257 units sold last month. The third place is held by another popular selling Mahindra badged SUV, the Scorpio with 713 unit sales last month. 

Tata Motors has reportedly sold 3,152 units in May 2020. Tata Altroz, the premium hatchback is the bestseller for the company with 1,379 unit sales last month. The Tiago and the Nexon have emerged as the other bestsellers for the company with 857 units and 623 unit sales respectively, in May 2020. In the same period, Renault has reported a cumulative sales figure of 1,753 units. The Triber continues to be a hotseller for the company with 931 units sold last month, while the Kwid emerges as the second popular choice with 684 unit sales. 

Kia has sold 1,661 cumulative units in May 2020, with 1,611 coming from the Kia Seltos alone and the remaining from the Carnival. Car manufacturers like Toyota and Volkswagen have sold 1,642 units and 1,404 units respectively. The Toyota Innova Crysta continues to be a bestseller for the company with 759 unit sales, while the Glanza takes the second place with 507 unit sales last month. As for Volkswagen, the Polo hatchback has been a popular choice with 1,126 unit sales in May 2020.

Other car manufactures with less than 1000 unit sales last month include – Honda (375 units), Ford (571 units), MG (710 units), Nissan (378 units), Skoda (508 units) and FCA (93 units).