Festive demand, better production lead to highest-ever November PV wholesales

New Delhi: Passenger vehicle (PV) dispatches rose to the highest-ever level for November month as the companies pushed supplies to dealers to cater to the enhanced demand in the festive season.

The overall passenger vehicle wholesales rose to 3.35 lakh units last month, up 3.9 per cent from 3.22 lakh units in November 2022.

"It is the highest-ever November wholesale figure for the passenger vehicle segment," Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) Senior Executive Officer (Marketing and Sales) Shashank Srivastava told reporters in a virtual call.

He noted that factors like enhanced demand during the festive period and better production due to the availability of electronic components played a role in robust wholesales last month.

Srivastava noted that the industry is expected to close the current financial year with the best-ever yearly wholesales of over 41 lakh units.

He, however, noted that the industry is witnessing a drop in retail and bookings post November 15.

He said that hybrid vehicle sales have crossed battery electric vehicle sales in both October and November.

"We think hybrid as a concept is now starting to get the attention of buyers as there are now multiple models in the market from various manufacturers," Srivastava said.

Further, he stated that the industry continues to witness high demand for sports utility vehicles with the segment accounting for over 50 per cent last month.

In November, MSI's domestic passenger vehicle sales stood at 1,34,158 units last month as compared with 1,32,395 units in November 2022, a growth of 1.33 per cent.

Sales of entry-level mini cars, comprising the Alto and S-Presso, were lower at 9,959 units as against 18,251 units in the same month last year.

Similarly, sales of compact cars, including models such as Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift, Tour S, and WagonR, were lower at 64,679 units in November 2023 over 72,844 units in the year-ago month.

On the other hand, utility vehicle sales, comprising Brezza, Ertiga, Fronx, Grand Vitara, Invicto, Jimny, S-Cross, and XL6, were higher at 49,016 units last month as against 32,563 units in the same period a year ago.

Rival Hyundai Motor India said its domestic wholesales rose to 49,451 units last month, up 3 per cent from 48,002 units in the year-ago period.

Hyundai Motor India COO Tarun Garg said the growth momentum continued but as industry players undertake stock correction ahead of the year-end the wholesales are expected to taper down.

"We at Hyundai have three weeks of inventory at the moment and it will go down to two weeks by the end of December," he added.

Garg stated that Hyundai's SUV contribution to total sales was the highest at 68 per cent in November.

Asked about taking a price increase, he said the company is also considering passing on some of the impacts of the rise in commodity prices such as copper and plastic, the adverse impact of forex movement and high inflation.

"We will be finalising the quantum of price hike in the next couple of weeks and we will try to keep the impact minimal to the consumers," Garg said.

Mahindra & Mahindra said its utility vehicle dispatches stood at 39,981 units last month, an increase of 32 per cent over 30,238 units in the year-ago period.

"We continue our growth trend, backed by strong demand for our SUV portfolio...While we saw a healthy festive season, we faced supply challenges on select parts during the month. We are keeping a close watch and taking appropriate steps to mitigate the challenges," M&M President Automotive Division Veejay Nakra said.

Tata Motors said its passenger vehicles (PV) dispatches, including electric vehicles (EV), were at 46,143 units last month as against 46,425 units in the year-ago month, lower by 1 per cent.

In the two-wheeler segment, Bajaj Auto said its total domestic sales (two-wheelers and commercial vehicles) in November grew by 69 per cent to 2,57,744 units as against 1,52,883 units in November 2022.

TVS Motor Company said its domestic two-wheeler wholesales grew by 50 per cent to 2,87,017 units in November 2023 from 1,91,730 units in November 2022.

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India said its domestic wholesales were at 4,20,677 units last month as against 3,53,553 units a year ago.