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Informist, Thursday, Apr. 2, 2026

By Anand JC

NEW DELHI – Hyundai Motor India Ltd. lost its position as the second-largest passenger vehicle seller in India in 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) and slipped below Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd. and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. as the two gained market share. The company vacated the runner-up spot it had held for years, as its two closest competitors' offerings found more favour with customers.

Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. retained the top position on Indian roads in FY26. Together, these four companies sold 3.70 million passenger vehicles in India in the last financial year, up nearly 7% from the previous year. After a subdued Apr-Sept, demand for passenger vehicles surged sharply in Oct-Mar, primarily due to the goods and services tax cut, which helped select companies register record sales in FY26.

Hyundai Motor was the only company that reported a sales contraction among the four, as its domestic wholesale sales fell just over 2% on year to 584,906 units in FY26. Analysts and the company itself are hopeful that its domestic performance will pick up in the months ahead, given that the recent launches of the Exter and Verna have yet to meaningfully reflect in its retail volumes. The company recently announced a facelift for its sedan Verna, which is currently seeing strong waiting periods.

M&M replaced Hyundai Motor in FY26 as India's second-largest passenger vehicle maker with record domestic wholesale sales of 660,276 units, up nearly 20% on year. The company moved up two positions from FY25 in the recently concluded financial year.

M&M's wholesale market share was 13.5% in March, up from 12.5% a year ago, while its retail market share in March was 14%, up 40 basis points from a year ago. The Mumbai-based automaker's passenger-vehicle lineup includes only sport utility vehicles. "The new SUVs from M&M continue to garner strong response from the customers, which is reflected in the waiting period," Nomura Equity Research said in a report on Friday.

Tata Motors PV retained its spot as India's third-largest passenger vehicle seller in FY26. The company sold a record high 631,387 units to dealerships in India in FY26, up 14% from the previous year.

"Nexon and Punch emerged as the highest-selling SUV models in H2 (Oct-Mar), underscoring the strength of our SUV portfolio, while industry-beating growth in hatchbacks reinforced their customer preference," the company's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Shailesh Chandra said on Wednesday. The company's retail market share improved to 15.4% in March from 14.4% a year ago, while its wholesale market share saw an even sharper increase to 14.8% in March from 13.4% a year ago.

EXPORTS

Hyundai Motor's 'Make in India' and sell abroad bet paid off even as domestic sales faltered in FY26. Including exports, India's top passenger vehicle companies sold 4.35 million units in FY26, up 10% on year. Here, Hyundai Motor managed to keep its spot as India's second-largest passenger vehicle-maker in FY26, the same as in FY25.

Maruti Suzuki remained the market leader by a wide margin with sales of 2.27 million units in FY26, up 8.5% on year. The company exported 447,774 cars in FY26, up 35% on year. The company comfortably beat its own export target of selling 400,000 units in FY26, and its management feels outlook for its exports remain buoyant despite the ongoing war in West Asia. This is because the company has a diversified export market basket which spans 100 countries.

Hyundai Motor sold 775,031 units in India and abroad in FY26, up only 4% on year, the weakest growth rate among all major companies. Yet, its exports grew 16% on year to 190,125 units in FY26 – its only saving grace in an otherwise difficult financial year.

Such was the dominance of M&M – which has limited exports – that, even after including exports, it was India's third-largest passenger vehicle seller in FY26. Tata Motors PV sold 641,587 units in India and overseas in FY26, up 15% on year. Exports account for only a fraction of its overall sales, yet they jumped to 10,200 units in FY26 from 2,678 units in FY25.    End

Edited by Ashish Shirke

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