SUVs, rural demand accelerate auto sales in May

Tribune News Service

Vijay C Roy

Chandigarh, June 2

Automakers led by Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai Motor and Tata Motors on Thursday reported robust wholesales of passenger vehicles in the domestic market in May riding on strong demand for SUVs and uptick in rural demand.

The country’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, sold 1,43,708 units domestically in May as against 1,24,474 units in the same month last year, recording a 15.4% year-on-year (YoY) growth. Overall, the company sold 1,78,083 units last month. The shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production.

Hyundai Motor India registered domestic sales of 48,601 units as against 42,293 units in May 2022, up 14.91% YoY. The company also exported 11,000 units.

Tarun Garg, COO, Hyundai Motor India, said, “We are glad to announce a double-digit growth fuelled by our blockbuster SUVs — Creta and Venue. The recently launched Verna clocked strong numbers while Exter — soon-to-be-launched SUV — continues to ramp up excitement among customers in the SUV space.”

Tata Motors registered a 6% YoY growth in sales to 45,878 units against 43,341 units in May 2022. In the passenger vehicle segment, Mahindra & Mahindra registered a 22% growth YoY to 32,886 units as against 26,904 units in May 2022.

MG Motor India sold 5,006 units, a growth of 25% over the same month last year.