India car sales analysed – December 2021

The year 2021 ended on a high note with the compact SUV segment leading sales in the country. Back in December 2021, the compact SUV segment registered a decent growth of 23 per cent. As for sales in 2021, the compact SUVs have boosted cumulative sales for the SUV/crossover segment as a whole, wherein its market share has reached an all-time high of 38 per cent. The compact hatchback and mid-SUV segments claim the second and third rank, respectively. 

Back in December 2021, Tata Motors outsold Hyundai to emerge as the second bestseller in the country. Maruti Suzuki continues to be the undisputed leader and has retained its top rank in the country last month. Read below to learn more about the sales performance of brands and their respective models in December 2021. 

Maruti Suzuki

The country’s largest car manufacturer, Maruti Suzuki has retained the top rank despite a 12.6 per cent drop in sales in December 2021. The Indian automaker ended the year with 1,23,016-unit sales in December 2021 as compared to 1,40,754-unit sales in December 2020. The drop in sales is attributed to the shortage in the supply of semiconductors in the country. Refer to the table below to learn about the top three bestsellers for the company last month.  

Tata Motors

Tata Motors has outdone challenging market conditions to emerge strongly in 2021. Back in December 2021, Tata Motors emerged as the second bestseller with 35,300-unit sales as compared to 23,546-unit sales in December 2020, thereby registering a strong growth of 49.9 per cent. The following is the graphical representation of the top three Tata models sold in India last month.

Hyundai

After holding the second rank for the longest period in the country, Hyundai has slipped down to the third rank in December 2021. The South Korean automaker, Hyundai registered 32,312-unit sales in December 2021 as compared to 47,400-unit sales in December 2020, witnessing a drop of 31.8 per cent. The top three bestsellers for the company last month are graphically represented below.

Mahindra

The country’s popular utility vehicle manufacturer, Mahindra has retained the fourth rank with 17,476-unit sales in December 2021 as against 16,050-unit sales in the same period in the previous year. The company witnessed an 8.9 per cent growth in the country in December 2021. The top three sellers for the company last month are as follows.

Toyota

Toyota has outsold Kia India to emerge as the fifth bestseller in the country. The company registered an impressive 44.6 per cent growth with 10,833-unit sales in December 2021 as compared to 7,493-unit sales in December 2020. The top three Toyota cars sold in the country last month are mentioned below.         

Honda

Japanese automaker Honda secures the sixth rank with 7,973-unit sales as compared to 8,638-unit sales in December 2020, with a drop of 7.7 per cent. The top-two bestsellers for the company in India last month are as follows.

Kia India

Kia India has been outsold by Honda with just 176 units. Kia sales dropped by 34 per cent with 7,797-unit sales in December 2021 as compared to 11,818-unit sales in December 2020. The significant drop in sales can be attributed to the shortage in the supply of semiconductors. The top two Kia models sold in the country are as follows.

Renault

Renault has registered 6,130-unit sales in India in December 2021 as compared to 9,800-unit sales in December 2020, thereby witnessing a drop of 37.4 per cent. The top-two bestsellers for the company in India last week are as follows.

Volkswagen

German automaker, Volkswagen has witnessed a modest growth of 54.1 per cent with 3,700-unit sales in December 2021 as compared to 2,401-unit sales in the same period in 2020. Of the total sales, 2,828 units are from Taigun alone.       

Skoda

Skoda has registered a 148.1 per cent growth in sales with 3,233-unit sales in December 2021 as against 1,303-unit sales in the same period in 2020. Of the total numbers, 2,840 units are of the Kushaq.     

Nissan

Nissan India has registered 3,010-unit sales in December 2021 as compared to 1,159-unit sales in December 2020, with an impressive growth of 159.7 per cent. The Nissan Magnite is a major contributor to the overall sales, with 2,653-unit sales in December 2021. 

MG Motor

The shortage in the supply of semiconductors has significantly affected MG sales in the country. The company witnessed a drop of 36.4 per cent with 2,550-unit sales in December 2021 as compared to 4,010-unit sales in December 2020. The Hector and the Astor have been strong contributors with 1,215-unit sales and 1,125-unit sales, respectively.

FCA 

FCA registered 916-unit sales from the Jeep Compass in December 2021 as compared to 384-unit sales in the same period in the previous year, thereby reporting a growth of 139 per cent.

Citroën

Currently, the C5 Aircross is the only model to be offered by Citroën in India. The company will introduce its second product, the C3 in the country sometime this year. Back in December 2021, the company sold just 24 units of the C5 Aircross in India. 

Conclusion

The start of a new year also brings in a fresh ray of hope among car buyers. As the country is now better equipped to control the pandemic, combined with the marginal improvement in supply in semiconductors, it is believed that cars sales are likely to get better this month. Moreover, with a slew of new CNG variant launches in the country, we expect to see a considerable rise in car sales in January 2022.