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Exports of utility vehicles (UVs) were up 50.5 per cent in May 2024 owing to a low base in the same month of the previous year, while domestic wholesales and production went up 17.6 per cent and 26.9 per cent, respectively, shows the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam).
PVs comprise passenger cars and UVs. UVs are mainly sports utility vehicles (SUVs) or multi utility vehicles (MUVs).
India exported 24,490 UVs in May, up 50.5 per cent from 16,274 units in May last year.
Domestic UV sales were up 17.6 per cent to 182,883 units while production was up 26.9 per cent to 213,462 units.
Export growth has been led by companies like Hyundai Motor India, Honda Cars India, and Volkswagen India. Hyundai exported 14,400 passenger vehicles (PVs) in May, up 31 per cent from May 2023.
An official of the company said exports last year in May were affected due to shortages of semiconductor chips
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and therefore a low base effect pushed exports up in May 2024.
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Hyundai Motor India forms a critical part of Hyundai Motor Corporation’s global export hub with exports spanning across Africa, West Asia, and other countries including Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, Honda Cars’ exports increased 11 times in May to 6,521 units, up from the 587 in May last year. Volkswagen India too saw a rise in PV exports to 5,839 units in May, up from the 3,222 in the same month last year.
European car major Skoda Auto Volkswagen India (SAVWIPL) said at the end of May it had manufactured over 1.5 million vehicles at its Chakan facility in Pune since it commenced operations at the plant in 2009.
These include models from Volkswagen and Skoda, such as the Kushaq (Skoda), Slavia (Skoda), and Taigun (Volkswagen). The Skoda-Volkswagen Group exports over 30 per cent of its car production in India to 40 global markets.
Piyush Arora, managing director and chief executive officer, SAVWIPL, had said as the firm outlined its expansion plans in India, it aimed to elevate India’s position as a global hub for automotive manufacturing.
Exports of passenger cars dipped 19.6 per cent. Passenger car sales were also down 11.1 per cent and production was down by 13 per cent in May.
Domestic PV wholesales were up 4.2 per cent in May while retail sales were down by nearly 1 per cent.
Production at companies like Toyota Kirloskar Motors, Maruti Suzuki India, Volkswagen India, and Mahindra and Mahindra rose in May. For Hyundai Motor India production slightly fell owing to a one-week maintenance shutdown at its Sriperumbudur plant.
The SIAM data showed Volkswagen India produced 10,666 cars in May as against 4,362 cars in May last year; Mahindra and Mahindra manufactured 41,595 units in May, up from the 31,022 units in the same month last year.
Maruti Suzuki India produced 189,964 units compared to 176,218 units.
Two-wheeler exports up 20%
Two-wheeler exports increased 20.2 per cent in May to 312,418 units. Of these, scooter exports grew 25 per cent to 50,844 units and motorcycle exports 19.2 per cent to 261,310 units.
Exports of Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India grew from 18,249 in the previous year to 41,458 in May this year. TVS Motor exported 88,450 units as against 66,605 last year while Bajaj Auto’s exports grew from 112,885 units to 117,142 units.
Bajaj Auto Executive Director Rakesh Sharma recently said his firm’s key markets like Nigeria, Kenya, and Bangladesh, which were down earlier, had recovered.
