While market leaders Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) and Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) reported a decline in their domestic passenger vehicles sales numbers in March, companies like Tata Motors, Kia India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor and Skoda Auto recorded highest ever monthly sales during the month.

MSIL reported a decline of more than 8 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 1,33,861 units against 1,46,203 units in March 2021.

The company said the shortage of electronic components had some impact on the production of vehicles in 2021-22 and as the supply situation of electronic components continues to be unpredictable, it might have some impact on the production volume in FY23 as well.

As commodity prices are still going up, MSIL said it was watching the situation and would announce a price hike accordingly.

“Commodity prices have been high for a very long time -- whether it is steel or aluminium – the prices are almost doubled as compared to last year. That is the reason why auto companies kept increasing the price for the last one-and-a-half years, and we have also done four price hikes since January 2021 by up to 9 per cent (cumulative). We are watching the situation carefully,” Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Director (Marketing & Sales), MSIL, told BusinessLine.

‘Creta’ maker HMIL reported a decline of 19 per cent YoY to 44,600 units in March compared with 52,600 units in corresponding month last year.

Honda Cars India, MG Motor India and Nissan India too reported decline in sales YoY during the month.

However, home-grown companies Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors recorded high double-digit growth of 65 per cent and 43 per cent respectively in their sales in March.

“Tata Motors set several new records in a challenging year, disrupted by two waves of Covid, semi-conductor crisis and steep increase in commodity prices. We posted the highest ever annual, quarterly and monthly sales, supported by a strong demand for our New Forever range and agile actions taken on the supply side,” Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility, said.

He said the company ended the financial year with the highest-ever monthly sales of SUVs of 29,559 units and EV sales continued to witness a rapid growth in demand on the back of strong acceptance of Nexon EV and Tigor EV.

Kia India, which is in its third year in India, also achieved its best-ever monthly sales, registering 22,622 units in March. The company had sold 19,100 vehicles in March last year.

In the two-wheeler segment, the industry still continues to struggle with negative sales during the month.

Commercial vehicles, however, showcased the best performance with most of the players including Ashok Leyland, Volvo Eicher, M&M and Tata Motors recording double-digit growth during last month.

Tractor makers including Escorts and M&M remained subdued during the month due to high base of last year.

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