Maruti Suzuki sales fall; Tata Motors reports 94% rise on Dhanteras

Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday said it sold around 13,000 units on the day of Dhanteras, lower than last year hampered by supply constraints due to semiconductor shortage, although Tata Motors stated its deliveries grew 94 per cent.

Automobile dealers' body FADA on Tuesday termed the current festive season the worst in terms of business in a decade for its retail partners across the country as chip shortage impacted supplies in passenger vehicles creating a huge shortage of vehicles in SUV, compact - SUV and luxury segment.

"Demand and bookings have been good. We tried our best to deliver as many vehicles as possible. However due to supply side constraints we closed a little lower than last year, at around 13,000 units," Maruti Suzuki India Senior Executive Director (Marketing & Sales) Shashank Srivastava told PTI.

On the other hand, homegrown auto major Tata Motors had a good day on Dhanteras on Tuesday.

"On the auspicious day of Dhanteras, our deliveries nearly doubled as compared to last year, owing to strong demand for our 'New Forever' range, including the newly launched Punch and the EVs. Across India, our deliveries grew by 94 per cent," Tata Motors President, Passenger Vehicles Business Unit Shailesh Chandra said.

He, however, did not disclose the exact sales number for the day.

Multi-brand certified used car company, Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd said it delivered a record 1,028 units on Dhanteras through its over 1,100 dealerships across more than 300 cities in India.

"This year's festive season has been remarkable as the brand has registered 40 per cent growth. We are overwhelmed with the traction on our e-commerce platform which has contributed 25 per cent to our overall sales during this festive period," Mahindra First Choice Wheels Managing Director and CEO Ashutosh Pandey said in a statement.

On the outlook, he said,"We are sure that this demand will continue to surge till the end of the financial year and we look forward to supporting the consumers to find their vehicles through our strong online and offline channels."

MG Motor India had stated that it delivered over 500 units of its mid-sized SUV Astor to customers during the auspicious day.

This is particularly special considering acute shortage of chips, MG Motor India said in a statement adding it was trying "its best to improve the availability to meet its initial target of 4,000-5,000 deliveries by December-end 2021".

Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), which represents over 15,000 auto dealers that own over 26,500 outlets across the country, had on Tuesday said that the chip shortage situation has impacted offtake in the passenger vehicle segment.

"This is the worst festive season which Indian Auto Retail has seen in the last decade. Chip shortage is impacting supplies in PV creating a huge shortage of vehicles in SUV, compact - SUV and luxury segment," FADA President Vinkesh Gulati had said.

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