Manufacturers of passenger vehicles (PVs) in the first half of the calendar year (2025) reported a modest 0.5 per cent year-on-year increase in wholesale dispatches, while retail sales grew 2.5 per cent for the same period, reflecting a calibrated approach by automakers amid elevated dealership inventories and cautious consumer sentiment. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), dispatches rose marginally to 2.16 million units, up from 2.15 million units a year earlier.
Among the Sensex constituents, Asian Paints, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki India, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Tata Consultancy Services, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles were the laggards. However, Eternal, Titan, Adani Ports, Bharat Electronics Ltd, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers.
EV manufacturers point out that converting a regular petrol car into a flex-fuel vehicle requires only about Rs 17,000-25,000 per unit, whereas developing an EV demands vastly greater investments in research, battery development, and localisation.
Former managing director of Maruti Suzuki India, Jagdish Khattar, passed away on Monday morning following a cardiac arrest, according to people close to him. Khattar (79), a former bureaucrat, was considered as one of the most high profile leaders of the Indian automotive industry, laying the foundation for Maruti's future growth after the government began its disinvestment in 2002 and gradually exited from its joint venture with Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC). He had joined the then Maruti Udyog Ltd in July 1993 as director (marketing) and went on to become executive director (marketing) in the next six years.
Set to be unveiled at the Auto Expo in New Delhi, it is likely to be priced below Rs 400,000, and will come with air-conditioning and the option to choose from six colours.
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India expects auto sales to bounce back to the glory days of 7 per cent growth by FY 27, helped by the proposed GST rate cut which is expected to bring down car prices by 3.5 to 8.5 per cent.
The slowdown in growth is an industry-wide trend and companies are adjusting production to bring down the inventory levels at plants as well as dealerships.
All three Bharti group companies outperformed in CY25 but the biggest gain came from Bharti Airtel, the flagship.
Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday said it plans to invest over Rs 925 crore to expand its captive solar capacity to 319 MWp by FY2030-31. The car market leader announced the expansion of its solar capacity by 30MWp with two new projects.
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Monday said it has increased prices of its entire product range, except Celerio, by up to 1.9 per cent with immediate effect. In a regulatory filing, the company noted that it has taken the decision to hike prices due to an increase in various input costs. The weighted average price rise in ex-showroom prices (New Delhi) across select models is 1.9 per cent, it added. This is MSI's third price hike this year.
In the domestic market, the car has been well accepted and currently the company has over 80,000 bookings for the model.
In terms of safety, the Victoris has scored 5 stars in both GNCAP and BNCAP tests and that's a first for Maruti, observes Somnath Chatterjee.
From the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid, Larsen & Toubro, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Maruti Suzuki India, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement and HCL Technologies were the only gainers. On the other hand, Eternal, Tata Motors' commercial vehicles arm, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Trent, Tata Consultancy Services, Hindustan Unilever, and Infosys were among the laggards.
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Wednesday reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 475 crore for the first quarter ended June 30. The auto major had posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 268 crore in the April-June quarter of 2020-21. It noted that during the first quarter its sales and production were adversely impacted due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
MSI sells a range of models from entry-level hatchback Alto to S-CROSS, priced between Rs 2.99 lakh and Rs 12.39 (ex-showroom prices Delhi) lakh, respectively.
'In the January-August period, the share of hatchback in the overall PV industry sales was about 22.4 per cent. In the September-October period, the share of hatchbacks has come down to 20.4 per cent. In just October, their share was just 20 per cent. This is simple wholesale data from industry body SIAM.'
Since the Indian government reduced GST on small cars on September 22, the small car segment's share in Maruti's overall sales has risen to more than 25 per cent, up from 16.6 per cent earlier in FY26.
MSI's exports increased by 54.34 per cent to 14,386 units in January, from 9,321 units in the year-ago period.
Maruti Suzuki India on Wednesday reported a 42 per cent rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,671 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2023, driven by higher sales, improved realisation and favourable forex movement. The country's largest carmaker logged a net profit of Rs 1,876 crore in the January-March of 2021-22. Net sales during the fourth quarter rose to Rs 32,060 crore compared to Rs 26,749 crore in the year-ago period, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a regulatory filing.
The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) witnessed a 3 per cent drop in production last month. In a regulatory filing, the auto major reported total production of 145,560 units in November compared to 150,221 units in November 2020. "The shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production of vehicles during the month," it noted.
In May, MSI recorded domestic sales at 89,478 units, compared to 93,519 units in the year-ago period, registering a fall of 4.32 per cent.
Auto majors Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra reported robust sales in September as reduced price tags owing to GST rationalisation led to record demand in the Navaratri period. The month also saw Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra settling at number two and three positions, respectively in vehicle wholesales ahead of Hyundai Motor India.
The company's earlier highest for total and domestic sales stood at 1,21,952 units and 1,10,424 units respectively in March 2011.
Almost 30 per cent of Maruti's auto-component exports are to the US, and about half of that is facing a duty of 25 per cent and the other half 50 per cent.
The GST Council on Wednesday approved two slabs of 5 per cent and 18 per cent effective from September 22, the first day of Navaratri.
Leading automakers Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mahindra, and Tata Motors saw a dip in dispatches to dealers in August amid dip in demand with many prospective buyers postponing their buys anticipating a reduction in vehicle prices on account of the new GST framework. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India reported an 8 per cent year-on-year dip in dispatches of passenger vehicles in the domestic market last month.
Among the Sensex firms, State Bank of India, Maruti Suzuki India, Axis Bank, NTPC, BEL, Adani Ports, Eternal, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Power Grid, ITC, UltraTech Cement, Trent, HCL Technologies, Mahindra & Mahindra, and HDFC Bank were the major gainers. On the other hand, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Titan, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Motors, Bharti Airtel and Bajaj Finance were among the laggards.
After a record-breaking year, India's automobile industry is entering 2026 on a relatively strong footing, with sales growth expected in the 6-8 per cent range. The outlook is underpinned by policy support, including GST rationalisation, easing monetary conditions, and income tax relief, which together are likely to improve affordability and sustain consumer demand across vehicle segments.
The edge that Maruti Suzuki enjoys over Hyundai and other rivals stem primarily from its gigantic scale, reports Ajay Modi.
Maruti Suzuki India on Thursday said the locally manufactured Jimny five-door model has made its debut in the Japanese market. The SUV, which is exclusively manufactured at Maruti Suzuki's Gurugram-based plant, was unveiled in Japan on Thursday.
The company also recorded its highest-ever annual sales in 2008-09 at 792,167 units as against 764,842 units in the previous fiscal, a rise of 3.57 per cent. The previous highest annual sales were in 2007-08. '2008-09 marked Maruti Suzuki's silver jubilee year in India. Over these 25 years, the company sold over 70 lakh cars in the domestic market. Additionally, over 5 lakh cars have been exported the world over,' Maruti Suzuki India said in a statement.
Automobile exports from India rose 26 per cent year-on-year in September quarter driven by highest-ever shipments of passenger vehicles, two-wheelers and three-wheelers during the period, as per the latest data released by industry body SIAM.
"My understanding is that the rules are weighted in favour of big cars, even though smaller cars emit fewer emissions per passenger, use less material, and consume less fuel," Bhargava said in an interview with Business Standard.
Stock market sentiment is likely to remain optimistic going ahead, though some consolidation cannot be ruled out after the recent sharp rally in the benchmarks, analysts said. According to experts, the Nifty and Sensex could indeed move towards new record highs before the end of the year, if global cues stay supportive, crude oil prices remain benign and there is continued domestic earnings momentum.
For hatchbacks and sedans, offers range between Rs 40,000 and Rs 80,000 while SUVs and multi-purpose vehicles carry benefits exceeding Rs 1 lakh.
The automobile sector has started seeing volume growth, the crucial economy segment included. Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) could be a big beneficiary as the country's largest passenger vehicle (PV) maker has seen several favourable developments including volume recovery. Demand for its new sports utility vehicles (SUVs) appears to be good, and the company has 4 lakh outstanding orders by April 2023, (up from 3.6 lakhs in January 2023). Siam (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) estimates that passenger vehicle demand would grow by 5-7 per cent in the 2023-24 financial year (FY24) and MSIL is likely to beat the market growth.
Maruti's strategy for the SUV segment is to arrest the decline in customers for entry level hatchbacks.
'GST reduction will help larger and high-end cars too.'
High price, combined with the decision to go only for diesel and position it as a crossover, resulted in its limited success
With the government not continuing with lower excise duty beyond December 31, major car makers, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, GM India and Honda have raised vehicle prices by up to Rs 127,000.
