India has already surpassed Japan to become the third-largest market for car sales, automakers are now aiming for record-breaking sales in the country in 2023.
After recording a 33% increase in sales in 2022 and selling almost 4 million vehicles, the industry is confident in its ability to sell even more given that India already sold over 3 million units between January and September 2023 and that another one million are anticipated to come onto the market during the upcoming festive season.
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Automakers including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Kia, MG Motor, and Mercedes-Benz said demand continues to remain robust as even sales of premium vehicles are not showing any signs of slowdown. According to Shashank Srivastava, director (marketing & sales) at Maruti Suzuki:
“Riding the festive demand, we are confident to add an additional one million in the last quarter and cross 4 million units for the full year, creating a record for the industry. The going has been healthy so far, and we expect to be no different when it comes to festivals. We will have 83 days in the festive period this year, in which we intend to clock a record one million units.”
Shashank added that SUVs and new models continue to fuel the sales momentum. Tarun Garg, COO of Hyundai in India, also said demand looks healthy so far.
“The fresh demand continues to be strong, even as companies clear the previous backlog of bookings. The industry has grown by 9% this year, and we are confident to see the same growth over the remaining months.”
Hardeep S Brar, VP (of marketing & sales) at Kia India, said the mid-SUV category, which has products like Kia Seltos, Hyundai Creta, Maruti Grand Vitara, and Mahindra XUV7OO – has been growing strongly. He said:
“The upper-end of the market continues to perform well, and we do not see saturation happening anytime soon.”
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Santosh Iyer, MD of Mercedes in India, also said that new bookings do not show signs of weakness even in the luxury vehicle segment. “We are confident of carrying on the momentum.” Shailesh Chandra, MD of Tata Motors passenger and electric vehicles, said even electrics are contributing to the growth.
A computer animation professional with over 23 years of industry experience having served in leading organizations, TV channels & production facilities in Pakistan. An avid car enthusiast and petrolhead with an affection to deliver quality content to help shape opinions. Formerly written for PakWheels as well as major publications including Dawn. Founder of CarSpiritPK.com
