Auto sales August 2024 Highlights: As we roll into September 2024, car and two-wheeler manufacturers have reported their sales numbers for August 2024. Carmakers such as Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, MG, Kia, Hyundai, and Mahindra along with two-wheeler manufacturers have shared their monthly numbers.
Auto sales are witnessing a downward trend in the last couple of months due to rising inventories at the dealerships across all OEMs in the country. Recently, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) highlighted the issue last month, stating that inventory of passenger vehicles is at an all time high.
Howevers, OEMs are hoping for a revival of the auto industry from September onwards with the onset of the festive season. Major PV OEMs such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors, and Mahindra along with two-wheeler companies like Royal Enfield, and Bajaj have share their numbers.
August 2024 auto sales highlights
Commercial vehicle sales is also big for Bajaj, which includes three-wheelers. Last month, the company’s overall CV sales stood at 62,626 units, which include domestic sales of 45,206 units and exports of 17,420 units. Overall sales saw growth of 11 percent, while domestic sales witnessed 2 percent growth and exports, 41 percent growth.
While Bajaj is not the best-seller in the domestic market, the company is the largest when it comes to exports. In August 2024, Bajaj exported 1,26,557 two-wheelers, witnessing a 2 percent YoY growth.
Bajaj has registered domestic sales of 2,08,621 two-wheelers in August 2024, as compared to selling 1,60,820 two-wheelers in August 2023, witnessing a YoY growth of 30 percent. For Bajaj, the Pulsar series is a best-seller, while the launch of the new Freedom 125 CNG motorcycle is a bold move.
Last month, Mahindra‘s CV sales accounted for 30,424 units, as compared to 30,657 units sold in August last year. Commercial vehicle sales have seen a marginal decline in August 2024 for Mahindra.
While Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors and others have reported a decline in sales in August 2024, Mahindra has had a positive growth, selling 43,277 units, registering a 16 percent YoY growth.
Hero MotoCorp has one EV offering, the Vida electric scooter. For the first time, Hero sold over 6,000 electric scooters in a month, seeing its market share grow over 5 percent. The Hero Vida V1 competes with scooters from TVS, Bajaj, Ather, and Ola amongst others.
Hero MotoCorp has registered sales of 5,12,360 units of motorcycles and scooters in August 2024, while its domestic sales stood at 4,92,263 units. Hero has recorded a MoM sales increase of 38 percent, while its FY25 sales (April-Aug) sales saw an increase of 8 percent, having sold 24,17,790 units.
Royal Enfiled reported a volume of 3,67,801 units during YTD (Jan – Aug) 2024 resulting in a YoY drop of 3 percent. During the corresponding period last year, Enfield sold 3,78,406 units. The 350cc segment witnessed a drop of 7 percent whereas the 450cc and 650cc cumulatively accounted for 31 percent growth.
The company has plenty of new models in the developmen for the next few years in all three engine platforms – 350cc, 450cc, and 650cc. The latest launch by Enfield is the updated Classic 350.
Sales odf 350cc Royal Enfield motorcycles have declined by 11 percent. In August this year, the Chennai-based bikemaker sold 61,087 units of 350cc bikes, a drop from 69,023 units in August last year. On the other hand, volume above the 350cc segment has seen a rise, from 8,560 units in August 2023 to 12,542 units August this year, resulting in a YoY growth of 47%. The most notable additions in recent times are Shotgun in the 650cc segment and Guerilla in the 450cc category.
Royal Enfield, part of Eicher Motors, has recorded a total a sales volume of 73,629 units in August 2024, including domestic and exports. In August last year, Enfield sold a 77,583 units which translates to a YoY decline of 5 percent. Domestic sales stood at 65,623 units while 8,006 units were exported to foreign market. Domestic sales declined by 5.4 percent whereas exports have declined by 2 percent.
JSW MG Motor India has recorded retail sales of 4571 units in August 2024. This translates into a 9 percent YoY growth. During this period, electric vehicles have contributed to 35 percent of the total volume which includes MG ZS EV and MG Comet. The company is now gearing up for its third EV model in the form of Windsor EV, slated to launch on 11 September 2024.
Hyundai has achieved YTD (Jan-Aug 2024) total sales of 5,13,510 units, resulting in a YOY growth of 2.06 percent. During the same period, SUVs accounted for 66.8% of Hyundai India‘s total domestic volume. The South Korean brand is currently gearing up for the launch of the Alcazar facelift on 9 September 2024.
Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL), registered a total sales volume of 63,175 units in August 2024 out which 49,525 units were sold in the domestic market and 13,650 units were shipped to overseas markets. During the same period last year, HMIL recorded a total volume of 71,435 units – 53,830 units were sold in the domestic market whereas 17,605 units were exported.
Partho Banerjee, head of sales and marketing at Maruti Suzuki specified that currently Maruto has 1.65 lakh bookings across models and CNG share is about 35-40%
Partho Banerjee, head of sales and marketing at Maruti Suzuki clarified that Maruti will, “maintain inventory levels at current levels ahead of the festive seasons, we are calibrating inventory levels to match market levels and demand.”
Partho Banerjee, head of sales and marketing at Maruti Suzuki detailed the sales trend and highligted that “Hybrid sales contributed about 15-16% of overall sales; and the company is seeing MoM increase in hybrid share.”
Three-wheelers registered sales of 12,747 units in August 2024 as against 13,738 units in August 2023.
EV sales for TVS registered a growth of 4% with sales increasing from 23,887 units in August 2023 to 24,779 units in August 2024. The company’s total exports sales registered a growth of 14% with sales increasing from 87,515 units in August 2023 to 99,976 units in August 2024. Two-wheeler exports registered a growth of 19% with sales increasing from 75,491 units in August 2023 to 89,768 units in August 2024.
TVS Motor Company recorded total monthly two-wheeler sales of 378,841 units in August 2024 with a YoY growth of 14% as against 332,110 units sold in August last year. Domestic two-wheeler registered YoY growth of 13% with sales increasing from 256,619 units in August 2023 to 289,073 units in August 2024.
Motorcycle sales registered a YoY growth of 11% with sales increasing from 153,047 units in August last year to 170,486 units in August this year. Scooter registered a growth of 15% with sales increasing from 142,502 units in August 2023 to 163,629 units in August 2024.
Tata Motors sales in the domestic & international market for August 2024 stood at 71,693 vehicles, compared to 78,010 units during August 2023. Total domestic sales stood at 70,006 units as opposed to 76,261 units, resulting in a YoY decline of 8%.
Tata Motors has reported a total domestic sales of 44,486 for the passenger vehicle segment in August 2024. This resulted in a 3 percent YoY decline. During the same period last year, Tata Motors recorded a volume of 45,513 units. Only 344 units were exported last month, a drop of 18% from the same period last year.
Tata Motors sold a 5,935 units of electric cars in August this year as compared to 6,236 units sold in August last year. This translates to a YoY decline of 5 percent.
Toyota reopened the bookings in August for the Innova Hycross ZX & ZX (O) models, available in both self-charging strong hybrid electric (SHEV) and gasoline variants. With streamlined production and an enhanced supply chain, Toyota has successfully reduced the waiting period, allowing it to commence bookings for the top-end grades.
Commenting on the strong sales performance, Sabari Manohar – Vice President, Sales-Service-Used Car Business, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “As we approach the festive season, demand for our products remain buoyant, and we are already witnessing increased consumer interest and higher footfall across all our dealerships. SUVs and MPVs continue to significantly contribute to our sales numbers, reflecting a growing preference for these segment vehicles.”
Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) reported a wholesale of 30,879 units in August 2024. In August 2023, TKM had sold 22,910 units. This resulted in a 35% YoY growth. Total domestic sales stood at 28,589 units while exports accounted for 2290 units.
Additionally, the first eight months of thr CY2024 reported a 45% growth over the same period last year. From January- August 2024, the company sold 2,12,785 units while CY 2023 recorded sales of 1,47,192 units.
Kia reported 22,523 units of domestic sales in India for the month August 2024. This resulted in a 17.19% Y-o-Y growth compared to the 19,219 units sold in the corresponding month of the last year.
The Sonet was the highest-selling model for Kia in August recording a volume of 10,073 units. It was followed by the Seltos with a volume of 6,536 units during the same period while Carens reported a monthly volume of 5,881 units. The Korean carmaker sold 33 units of EV6 which comes to India as a fully-imported CBU model.
In August 2024, Maruti Suzuki India Limited sold a total of 181,782 units. Total sales in the month include domestic sales of 145,570 units, sales to other OEM of 10,209 units and exports of 26,003 units.
The small car segment which comprises models like Alto, S-Presso, Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift, WagonR registered a volume of 68,699 units, whereas utility vehicles like Brezza, Grand Vitara, Fronx, Ertiga, XL6, and Jimny registered 62,684 units.
The Indian auto industry is currently experiencing a high inventory of passenger vehicles, with some dealers struggling to sell their stocks. As of August 2024, the inventory of passenger vehicles in India is worth ₹73,000 crore, and the inventory levels are at a record high of 67-72 days.
In July 2024, passenger vehicle sales in India declined by 2.5% year-on-year to 3,41,510 units. This decline is due to high inventory levels and lower-than-expected demand from consumers. Companies have reduced sales to check high inventory levels with dealers.
