Maruti exceeds 50 per cent market share in November, Tata in the top 3 for sales

Festive sales are quite important for gauging customer preferences in terms of segments and brands. But the November sales this year were different. Yes it was the peak of the festive season but also marked one of the most landmark government decisions of the last decade – demonetisation. With the cash flow stemmed, the first casualty had to be automotive sales, especially the ones that mean big bucks.

Luxury car sales took the biggest hit. But with the sales figures out for the month of November, it seems like even the budget premium segment has borne the brunt. The biggest hit was taken by Hyundai with the i10 out of the picture, the Grand i10 turned out to be the bestseller for the Korean major. The Elite i20 which was doing more than 10,000 units steadily, dropped by almost 25 per cent. Mahindra, which banks on its big SUVs and the tier-2, tier-3 cash markets followed Hyundai.

Maruti Suzuki turned out to be the biggest gainer. At 1,26,220 cars sold in the month of November, the Indian car maker managed to achieve more than 50 per cent of the overall car sales in India. The Alto is back at numero uno with 23,320 cars sold in November and Maruti having six of its cars in the top 10 of the highest sales list including Dzire, WagonR, Swift, Baleno and Celerio.

Tata Motors has had the best festive season in a long time. The Tiago is doing well by selling 6,000 units in a month for the second month in a row. With Mahindra and Honda taking the hit, the Tiago has managed to push Tata in to the top 3, edging past Mahindra’s number of 12,707 by 29 units. The deliveries of earlier bookings might have still kept the sales boat afloat for car manufacturers. The car sales figures in December will bear the perfect testimony for the after effects of demonetisation on automotive sales.