India’s passenger vehicle market witnessed robust growth in November, with domestic wholesales rising to around 4.25 lakh units, marking a 20.7 per cent year-on-year increase. The surge in demand was largely driven by lower prices following the recent GST rationalisation, which encouraged customers to upgrade or purchase new vehicles.
Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) reported strong market sentiment. Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer of marketing and sales at MSIL, said during a virtual press conference that eight of the company’s models are completely sold out at the factory level, leaving no units available for dispatch. Dealers currently hold around 80,000 units in stock, equivalent to 19 days of inventory, while another 40,000 units are en route to dealerships. MSIL’s domestic wholesales jumped 21 per cent year-on-year to 1,70,971 units in November.
Banerjee added that December is expected to remain strong as production teams work overtime to meet high demand. Overall, he estimated that the industry’s passenger vehicle wholesales in November reached approximately 4.25 lakh units, compared to about 3.52 lakh units in November last year. For the full financial year FY26, he expects the auto sector to grow by 5–6 per cent.
Industry data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) had earlier shown that domestic passenger vehicle wholesales grew 17.2 per cent year-on-year in October, reaching 4,60,739 units, aided by festive demand and GST reforms.
Among individual companies, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles claimed the second spot in domestic wholesales for November, dispatching 57,436 units — a 22 per cent increase from last year. Mahindra & Mahindra closely followed with 56,336 units, up 21.9 per cent. Hyundai Motor India also posted positive growth, with domestic wholesales rising 4.3 per cent to 50,340 units. Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported 30,085 units in November, a 19.5 per cent year-on-year increase.
Varinder Wadhwa, vice-president for sales, service, and used car business at Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said strong festive demand, GST reforms, and the success of new models such as the Urban Cruiser Hyryder Aero Edition and Fortuner Leader Edition have contributed to the company’s growth.
(IANS)