Auto Sales October 2022: Why Did Car Sales Drop On A Sequential Basis?

Auto Sales October 2022: An Overview

October was another positive month for auto companies where most auto-makers continued sales momentum from September - the start of the auspicious occasion and festive season. 

Sequentially, Passenger Vehicle and 2Ws sales were less in October, compared to September. As per analysts, in the coming months, the demand for PVs is expected to remain strong, led by demand in the SUV category. Tractor and commercial vehicle segment sales are looking positive. The only concern is around the two-wheelers. 

Around 3.36 lakh cars were sold in October 2022, a growth of 29% year on year. However, month on month, the sales dropped by 5.2% as customers defer deliveries leading up to the festive season coupled with postponement associated with Shraadh.

Below are updated from all major car-makers in India for October 2022

Passenger Vehicle Sales in October 2022

Maruti Suzuki Sales October 2022 - India's largest carmaker, reported a growth in its domestic passenger vehicle (PV) to 1,40,337 units in October. In October 2021, the company sold 1,08,991 units. Sequentially, the sales decreased from 1,48,380 units in September. The export sales decreased to 20,448 units in October 2022 compared to 21,322 units in October 2021.

Sales of mini cars, including S-Presso and Alto increased to 24,936 units, against 21,831 in the same month last year. Similarly, sales in the compact segment, including models such as Celerio, Ignis, Swift, Baleno, and Dzire, increased significantly to 73,685 units against 48,690 cars in October 2021. Sequentially, the numbers for the mini and compact segments were down. Utility vehicle sales, including S-Cross, Vitara Brezza, XL6, and Ertiga, increased to 30,971 units from 27,081 vehicles in the year-ago month.

Hyundai Sales October 2022 - The company recorded a sales increase of 29% in October 2022 compared to last year. Hyundai sold 48,001 cars in October 2022, compared to 37,021 cars in the same month last year. Sequentially, sales were down from 63,201 units.

Hyundai's domestic wholesales stood at 58,006 units in October 2022, up 31% compared to 43,556 units in October 2021. The exports in September rose from 6,535 to 10,005 units in the year-ago period.

With the ever-improving semi-conductor situation, the company believes they were able to meet the demand of their customers and deliver Hyundai cars during the festive season in October. Their new models like Tucson continue to receive an overwhelming customer response with excellent booking numbers.

Tata Motors Car Sales October 2022 - The third-largest car manufacturer has managed to sell 45,217 passenger vehicles in India in October 2022, a growth of 33% year-on-year. Sequentially, the total PV domestic sales decreased from 47,864 units.

In the PV IB segment, Tata Motors sold 206 units, a decline of 10% year-on-year. The company’s electric vehicle PV business in October continues to grow at a good rate. Tata Motors sold 4,277 EVs in October 2022, registering a 158% year-on-year growth. In the year-ago period, it sold only 1,660 EVs.

With the recent launch of the Tiago EV (exported vehicle), the company has opened new vistas and is poised to drive the mass adoption of EVs across the country. It currently sells electric versions of the Nexon, Tigor, and Tiago models.

The company said that a planned shutdown of the Pune plant for preventive maintenance and debottlenecking actions led to reduced production in Oct'22.

Mahindra & Mahindra Car Sales October 2022 - The company continues to see very strong demand on the back of strong festive demand. The company sold 32,298 units under the PV category, a growth of 60% year-on-year. The cars and vans declined by 25% under PV. Mahindra’s Utility Vehicles segment recorded monthly sales of 32.226 SUVs, growing 61% over last year. Exports for the month were at 2,755 vehicles. I

Two Wheeler Sales in October 2022

Hero MotoCorp Sales Figures October 2022 - With sales of 4,42,825 units of motorcycles and scooters in October 2022, the company registered a decline in sales of 16% over the same month of last fiscal when it sold 5.27 lakh units. Motorcycles commanded a 92.30% share in October 2022, marginally down from 92.33% held in October 2021. Scooter sales declined year-on-year to 35,014 units in October 2022 from 42,013 units sold in October 2021. Domestic sales declined by 16.1%, while exports declined by 41.8%. 

In line with its aggressive plans for global expansion, the company partnered with Terrafirma Motors Corporation (TMC) to make its debut in the Philippines. TMC will be the exclusive assembler and distributor of Hero MotoCorp motorcycles in the Philippines.

The company said with the festivals of Dussehra and Diwali, which triggers record retail buying, occurring in October this year, the sales of October are not comparable to the previous years. Last year, the festival was spread across the months of October and November.

TVS Sales October 2022 - For TVS, the total two-wheelers sales grew from 341,513 units in October 2021 to 344,630 units in October 2022. Domestic two-wheelers business registered a decent growth of 7%, with sales increasing from 275934 units in October 2022 to 258777 units in October 2021.

The motorcycles segment registered sales of 1,64,568 units in October 2022, as against 172,361 units in October 2021, a decline of 4.5%. Scooter sales grew from 1,13,124 units in October 2021 to 1,35,190 units in October 2022, a growth of 20%. 

TVS iQube Electric continues to garner a great response from customers. It reported a strong sales growth of 8,103 units in October 2022 as against sales of 395 units in the year-ago period.

Bajaj Auto Sales October 2022 - In the two-wheeler space, Bajaj Auto's domestic sales stood at 2,06,131 units for October month, a nominal growth of 4%, compared to 1,98,738 units in the year-ago period. During the same period, two-wheeler exports stood at 1,35,772 units, which is a decline in sales by 29% compared to October 2021, when Bajaj Auto exported 1,92,565 units. Overall, 2-wheeler sales stood at 3,41,903 units, a decline of 13%.

Commercial Vehicle Sales October 2022

Tata Motors - Total domestic Commercial Vehicle sales for October 22 stood at 31320 units compared to 31226 units in October 2021, a decline of 0.3%. Domestic sales of MH&ICV in October 2022, including trucks and buses, stood at 13,251 units, compared to 11,6612 units in October 2021. Sales for MH&ICV Domestic & International Business in October 2022, including trucks and buses stood at 13,940 units compared to 12,723 units in October 2021. 

Mahindra & Mahindra - In the Commercial Vehicles segment, Mahindra sold 4,462 LCV < 2T (44% growth year-on-year), 15,728 LCV 2T - 3.5T (41% growth year-on-year), and 690 LCV > 3.5T + MHCV (5% decline year-on-year) in October 2022. 3 wheelers including electric 3Ws sales stood at 5,081 in October 2022, a growth of 44%. 

Bajaj Auto - In the commercial vehicle segment, Bajaj sold 36,786 units in October in the domestic market compared to 19,827 units in October 2021, registering a good growth of 86%. Exports were down as the company was able to export only 16,549 units compared with 28,485 units sold in the year-ago period. Bajaj’s overall commercial vehicle sales in October 2022 saw decent growth of 10% compared to the previous year.

Tractors Sales October 2022

Mahindra & Mahindra - Total tractor sales (Domestic + Exports) during October 2022 were at 50539 units, as against 45420 units for the same period last year. Exports for October month stood at 1455 units.

Escorts Kubota- Escorts' domestic tractor sales increased 8.6% year-on-year to 13,843 units in October 2022 from 12,749 units sold in October 2021. Festive demand was good led by above-normal monsoon and higher water reservoirs level. Escorts recorded a decline of 15.2% in export as it exported 649 units of tractors in October 2022 as against 462 units in October 2021. Overall, the total increase in sales year-on-year increased by 7.2% and stood at 14,492 units.