Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai see dip in passenger vehicles dispatches to dealers in May

New Delhi: Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor India on Monday reported a dip in passenger vehicle dispatches to dealers in the domestic market last month as the companies tried to adjust vehicle inventory amid slowing demand.

Maruti Suzuki India said it "calibrated supplies" to the dealers, aligning with the industry's retail sales projections amid India-Pakistan conflict and a dip in sales of entry-level cars.

Hyundai stated that last month, the company undertook a routine week-long biannual maintenance shutdown at its Chennai-based manufacturing facility.

The country's largest carmaker said its total domestic passenger vehicle dispatches to dealers stood at 1,35,962 units last month compared with 1,44,002 units in the year-ago period, a decline of 6 per cent.

Sales of mini segment cars Alto and S-Presso declined to 6,776 units against 9,902 units in the same month last year.

Similarly, sales of compact cars, including Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift, and WagonR, also fell to 61,502 units compared to 68,206 units in May 2024.

Utility vehicles Grand Vitara, Brezza, Ertiga, XL6, and Jimny clocked sales of 54,899 units last month, from 54,204 units earlier.

In a virtual press conference, MSI Senior Executive Officer (Marketing & Sales) Partho Banerjee said the dip in overall sales in the entry-level segment is impacting the overall performance of the company.

He noted that the India-Pakistan conflict also had a bearing on the company's sales last month as the automaker enjoys a market share of around 55 per cent in states like Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

"The states contribute close to 22 per cent of our sales, and the cities which were impacted account for almost 9 per cent of our sales," Banerjee said.

On the small car segment impacting overall sales performance of the company, he noted: "Fundamentally, the cost of the vehicles is going up as the number of regulations is getting added, and that is an affordability issue, which we all have been talking about. Until the time the small car markets don't start growing, people don't upgrade from a two-wheeler to a four-wheeler. I think this problem will be there." Hyundai Motor India said its dispatches to dealers in the domestic market declined 11 per cent to 43,861 units in May compared with 49,151 units in the year-ago period.

"May is a month of our routine week-long biannual maintenance shutdown at our Chennai manufacturing facility, which affects the availability of a few critical models," Tarun Garg, Whole-time Director and Chief Operating Officer at HMIL, said in a statement.

The automaker continues to witness consistent growth in export volume, he added.

"Going forward, we remain hopeful of a steady increase in demand for both domestic as well as international shipments with reduced uncertainty on the geo-political front and improved macro-economic situation," Garg said.

On Sunday, Tata Motors reported an 11 per cent year-on-year drop in total passenger vehicle sales to 42,040 units in May.

Mahindra & Mahindra said its passenger vehicle dispatches rose to 52,431 vehicles last month, a growth of 21 per cent, as compared to 43,218 units in May last year.

"Thanks to continued demand for our products, we were able to deliver industry-leading growth across our ICE and BEV portfolio," Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) CEO Automotive Division Nalinikanth Gollagunta said.

Kia India reported a 14 per cent year-on-year increase in dispatches to dealers in the domestic market in May. The company billed 22,315 units last month against 19,500 units in May 2024.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor on Sunday said its sales increased 22 per cent year-on-year to 30,864 units in May.

The company's wholesale to dealers in the domestic market stood at 29,280 units last month, while exports were at 1,584 units.

In May 2024, TKM had sold a total of 25,273 units.

In the two-wheelers space, Hero MotoCorp said its domestic dispatches to dealers rose to 4,88,997 units last month, compared to 4,79,450 units in the year-ago period.

Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India said its domestic sales stood at 4,17,256 units last month.

Suzuki Motorcycle India said its dispatches increased 17 per cent year-on-year to its dealers in the domestic market at 1,07,780 units last month.

Bajaj Auto said its total domestic sales, including commercial vehicles, stood at 2,25,733 units last month compared with 2,25,087 units in the year-ago period.

Royal Enfield said its domestic sales were at 75,820 units last month, against 63,531 units in May last year, up 19 per cent.