Car sales to cross 4 mn mark this year on strong demand despite price hikes

Carmakers are expecting sales of 4.10 to 4.17 mn cars this calendar year. This is 8-10% more than the sales registered in 2022, despite the high base of last year

Car sales are expected to set a new record for the ongoing calendar year (CY), crossing the earlier estimates by about 250,000 units as customer demand remains strong in the current festive season, The Economic Times (ET) has reported. This is despite the recent rate hikes in car prices by manufacturers.

Carmakers are expecting sales of 4.10 to 4.17 million cars this calendar year, including utility vehicles and vans. This is 8-10 per cent more than the sales registered in CY 2022, despite last year's high base. Last year, car sales grew by 23 per cent, the ET report cited industry executives as saying. They said the rise in sales is due to better-than-expected demand for more premium sports utility vehicles (SUVs).

Tarun Garg, chief operating officer at Hyundai Motor India, told ET, "Despite the precarious geopolitical situation, demand momentum remains strong, indicating the high resilience of the domestic market."

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Until October, the first ten months of the current calendar year, 3.47 million cars have been sold in the local market, which is 9 per cent more than the 3.19 million cars sold last year during the same period.

New launches driving sales

New products like Maruti Suzuki Front, Hyundai Exter, and updated Kia Seltos are among the main drivers of sales. As things stand, the SUV segment now accounts for more than 48 per cent of the total car sales. This share was at 43 per cent last year.

Festive season sales

The ET report said that between Dhanteras on Friday and Bhai Dooj on Tuesday, car deliveries would be in the range of 55,000 to 57,000 vehicles, a growth of more than 21 per cent. Last year, the deliveries during this period stood at 45,000 units.

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The ET report said that Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest car manufacturer, expects car sales in the local market to be about 4.14 million units in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24).