Auto Sales in April 2023 | Passenger Vehicles and Two Wheelers

During the first month of the financial year 2023-24, wholesale dispatches showed positive growth compared to the same period in the previous year, across all segments except for Hero MotoCorp. The passenger vehicle (PV) segment specifically saw a 13% growth with sales of approximately 3.31 lakh units, as compared to 2.93 lakh units in the corresponding month last year. However, despite the positive growth, retail sales remained sluggish during this period.

Looking ahead, there are concerns about the ongoing chip shortage which is expected to continue during the first quarter of the financial year. Additionally, there are also concerns about inflation and the potential impact of rural sentiment on the automotive industry. It is important to note that April 2020 was a difficult period for the industry due to the nationwide lockdown in India, which resulted in zero production and sales for automakers.

In April 2021, the month started off well but ended with a surge of COVID-19 cases during the second wave. However, in April 2022, the economy gradually reopened and consumer sentiment improved. Despite this, automobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) continued to face supply chain constraints.

Moving forward to the first month of the financial year 2023-24, retail sales remained sluggish, but there was positive growth in wholesale dispatches across all vehicle segments. The report for April 2023 shows that vehicle dispatches to dealers were in the green across all segments. However, it is important to note that retail sales were slow during this period.

Passenger Vehicles

As per industry estimates, the passenger vehicle (PV) segment witnessed a growth of 13% with sales of around 3.31 lakh units in the first month of the financial year 2023-24, as compared to 2.93 lakh units in the same period last year. However, the retail sales in this segment were around 2.85 lakh units, resulting in a muted growth of 3.5%.

Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer- Marketing & Sales at Maruti Suzuki, explained that the PV industry's retail sales were 2.86 lakh units, while the wholesale dispatches were 3.31 lakh units. This indicates that there was an increase in the network stack in the industry, which rose from 2.04 lakh units at the beginning of the month to 2.51 lakh units by the end of the month.

According to Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer- Marketing & Sales at Maruti Suzuki, the current level of inventory is normal, and the company has not seen such a level of inventory in a long time. Retail sales were slower during the month of April due to various reasons, including pre-buying in anticipation of the implementation of the BS-VI Phase-II norms, and also due to some customers who had taken deliveries during the auspicious period but had invoiced the vehicles in March.

Additionally, Maruti Suzuki faced some production losses in April due to semiconductor issues, which resulted in lost volumes for models such as Brezza, Grand Vitara, and Ertiga. The company expects the chip shortage to continue during the first quarter of the financial year but is hopeful for a recovery in Q2. However, the visibility of semiconductor supply remains limited.

During the month of April 2023, SUVs accounted for about 47% of the domestic market share. Tarun Garg, the COO of Hyundai Motor India, attributed the double-digit growth in the domestic market to the overwhelming response received for their new Verna model. The company aims to continue this momentum with the launch of their upcoming Exter SUV.

Kia reported that their Sonet model was the top contributor to overall sales, with 9,744 units sold. The Seltos and the Carens models sold 7,213 and 6,107 units, respectively.

According to Rohan Kanwar Gupta, the Vice President & Sector Head - Corporate Ratings at ICRA Limited, even though there are concerns about a possible decline in demand due to rising ownership costs, the wholesale dispatches for April 2023 were at healthy levels. This was mainly due to robust order books across various OEMs and steady demand.

In terms of domestic dispatches, there was marginal growth on a sequential basis and approximately 15% growth on a year-on-year basis, with approximately 3.4 lakh units dispatched. While the production levels of OEMs remained healthy, they were still impacted to some extent by a shortage of electronic components, according to Gupta.

Four Wheeler Sales

| Domestic Sale | April 2023 | April 2022 | %Changes ||----------------------|------------|------------|----------|| Maruti Suzuki | 1,37,320 | 1,21,995 | 12.5 || Hyundai | 49,701 | 44,001 | 13 || Tata Motors | 47,007 | 41,587 | 13 || Mahindra & Mahindra | | | || Kia India | 23,216 | 19,019 | 22 || Toyota Kirloskar | 14,162 | 15,086 | -6 || Renault | | | || Honda Cars | | | || Skoda Auto | | | || MG Motors | 4,551 | 2,008 | 125 || Nissan India | 2,617 | 2,110 | 24 || Volkswagen | | | |

According to Toyota Kirloskar Motor, the decline in their April 2023 sales was due to a maintenance shutdown that lasted from April 24-28, aimed at improving productivity, safety, and operational efficiencies. While the company is working to meet customer demand despite supply chain constraints, Maruti Suzuki's Srivastava cautioned that there are potential red flags such as inflation and rural sentiment weakness that could impact market outlook in the coming months. On the other hand, MG expects to see improvements in supply chain constraints in the future.

Two Wheelers

Hero MotoCorp is optimistic about the future as it anticipates a boost in momentum in the upcoming months due to various factors such as the launch of new products, a strong GDP growth, and optimistic consumer sentiments.

In April 2023, the company reported an increase in scooter sales to 27,277 units from 25,995 units in the same month the previous year. However, motorcycle sales have declined from 392,627 units in April 2022 to 368,830 units this year.

| Domestic Sales | April 2023 | April 2022 | %Change ||--------------------|------------|------------|---------|| Hero MotoCorp | 3,86,184 | 3,98,490 | -3 || HMSI | 3,38,289 | 3,18,734 | 6 || TVS Motor | 2,32,956 | 1,80,553 | 29 || Bajaj Auto | | | || Royal Enfield | 68,881 | 53,852 | 28 || Suzuki Motorcycles | 67,259 | 84,327 | 24 |

Check out April 2023 Sales of Electric Scooter