India car sales analysis: November 2020

The Indian automotive industry witnessed its highest ever monthly sales for this fiscal year in October 2020. The car sales were boosted with the auspicious period of Navaratri followed by the festival of Dussehra. Contradictory to the belief, car sales during Diwali, in November were lower as compared to October 2020. That said, some of the leading car manufacturers in the country, namely Hyundai, Tata Motors, Kia, Mahindra, Toyota, Honda, MG, and FCA have witnessed good growth in sales last month as compared to November 2019. Moreover, Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, and Tata Motors have retained the top-three position in November 2020. 

Maruti Suzuki sold 1,35,775 units in November 2020 as compared to 1,39,133 units in the same period last year, thereby witnessing a 2.4 per cent drop in the sale this year. The top-three sellers for India’s largest car manufacturer last month were – the Swift (18,498 units), Baleno (17,872 units), and the Wagon R (16,256 units). 

Hyundai, the second bestseller in November sold 48,800 units last month as against 44,600 unit sales in November 2019, thereby witnessing a 9.4 per cent growth last month. The top-three sellers for Hyundai last month were – the Creta (12,017 units), Grand i10 (10,936 units), and the Venue (9,265 units).

Tata Motors emerges as the third bestseller in November with 21,640 unit sales as against 10,400 unit sales in the same period last year. Interestingly, Tata Motors has witnessed 108.1 per cent growth in November 2020 as against the same period in 2019. The top-three sellers for the company last month were – the Altroz (6,260 units), Nexon (6,021 units), and the Tiago (5,890 units).

Kia Motors continues to compete strongly in the Indian market with just a three product line-up – Seltos, Sonet, and the Carnival. The company is close on heels to Tata sales with 21,022 unit sales in November 2020 as against 14,005 unit sales in November 2019. Kia has registered an impressive 50 per cent growth in sales in India last month as compared to the same period last year. The Sonet and the Seltos have been the key contributors with 11,417 unit and 9,215 unit sales, respectively.

Mahindra has registered a 24.4 per cent growth in November 2020 with 18,212 units as compared to 14,635 units sold in November 2019. The Bolero and the XUV300 are the key contributors to the overall sales with 6,055 units and 4,458 units, respectively. 

Renault has witnessed a 6.4 per cent drop in sale with 10,181 unit sales in November 2020 as against 10,882 unit sales in November 2019. The Kwid and the Triber are the strong selling models for the company with 4,956 unit sales and 4,809 unit sales, respectively. 

Honda Amaze has emerged as a strong seller for the company in India last month. Honda cumulatively sold 9,990 units last month as against 6,459 unit sales in the same period last year, thereby registering a growth of 54.7 per cent. Honda Amaze sales have increased by 43 per cent with 4,709 units sold last month as against 3,286 unit sales in November 2019.

Toyota registered a 2.4 per cent growth in sales last month. The company sold 8,508 units in the country last month as compared to 8,307 unit sales in the same period last year. 

MG Motors has four models on sale in India – the Hector, Hector Plus, Gloster, and the ZS EV. The company sold 4,163 cumulative units in India last month, of which 3,426 units are from the Hector alone. The company has sold 627 units of the recently introduced Gloster SUV in India last month. 

Ford has registered a 26 per cent drop in sales with 3,991 unit sales in November 2020 as against 5,392 unit sales. 

Sales for Volkswagen have dropped by 51.9 per cent in November with 1,412 unit sales as against 2,937 unit sales in the same period last year. 

Skoda has also witnessed a 16.6 per cent drop in sales with 1,056 unit sales in November 2020 as compared to 1,266 unit sales in the same period last year.

Nissan is also one of the car manufacturers to have witnessed a drop in sales last month. The company witnessed a 30.1 per cent drop in sales with 1,017 unit sales as compared to 1,455 unit sales in the same period last year. 

FCA has witnessed 10.3 per cent growth with 709 unit sales in November 2020 as compared to 643 unit sales in the same period last year. 

The month of December is likely to be slow for all major car manufacturers in the country. Growth in sales, if any, is likely to come from popular models with lucrative discount offers from dealers or car manufacturers.