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Informist, Monday, Jun. 1, 2026

 

By Anand JC

 

MUMBAI – Wholesale passenger vehicle sales in India recorded healthy year-on-year growth in May, although volumes eased marginally from the previous month. The boost from the late-2025 cut in goods and services tax continued to support demand despite rising vehicle and fuel costs.

 

Domestic despatches by all carmakers in the country climbed 25% on year but fell 2% on month to 440,000 units in May. Despatches by India's top four carmakers – Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., and Hyundai Motor India Ltd. – rose 28% on year to 412,751 units in May, including domestic sales and exports. This was higher than the 26% growth registered in April.

 

These four carmakers sold 355,285 cars to dealerships in India in May, up almost 30% on year. Despatches of cars in India were expected to moderate sequentially in May, in part due to the observance of Adhik Maas in select regions during which people avoid purchasing new cars.

 

Exports by the top four companies grew a shade over 17% on year and almost 3% on month to 57,466 units in May. Growth in exports was mainly led by Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors PV, while exports by M&M and Hyundai Motor fell.

 

Maruti Suzuki retained the top spot in the domestic passenger vehicle market, followed by Tata Motors PV, M&M, and Hyundai Motor. The gap between Tata Motors PV and M&M narrowed in May, while that between M&M and Hyundai Motor widened.

 

The WagonR maker registered its best-ever monthly sales in May, a record already set in April, as its despatches got an additional boost from higher output at its plant in Kharkhoda, Haryana. Its domestic passenger vehicle sales rose almost 40% on year to 190,337 units, driven by a sharp surge in despatches of its mini, compact, and utility vehicle-segment cars.

 

The company signalled a fresh push towards models powered by compressed natural gas and electricity as consumers grapple with the consequences of the ongoing war in West Asia – rising commodity and fuel costs. Maruti Suzuki has announced a price hike of up to INR 30,000 across its models – its first since the GST cut – from Monday to offset pressures from rising input costs.

 

"The price hike always has an impact (on demand) because there is a price sensitivity matrix. We all know it has an impact... there is no choice left to us," Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer of marketing and sales at Maruti Suzuki, told reporters at a virtual press conference.

 

In their post-earnings conference calls, automobile companies had already flagged rising commodity costs as the biggest pain point, one that could derail sales momentum spurred by the 2025 tax cut. The Centre has hiked petrol and diesel prices by up to INR 8 per litre in just two weeks. Prices of CNG have also gone up by INR 4 to INR 6 per kilogram in recent weeks.

 

"Our checks indicate a spurt in EV demand with a 15-20% increase in inquiries and bookings led by uncertainty in the fuel prices and new launches," YES Securities said in a report late last week. Electric vehicle penetration remains low at 6.3% but is much higher than the 4% recorded in the June quarter of 2025, according to Nomura.

 

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles is India's top electric car seller. In May, sales of its electric vehicles grew 85% on year – the highest since September – to 10,517 units. Overall, it sold 59,790 cars in May, up 42% on year, the highest growth in four months.

 

M&M sold 58,021 sports utility vehicles in India last month, up nearly 11% on year. "The sustained demand across our portfolio continues, constrained by supply chain challenges due to manpower shortages at select suppliers," Nalinikanth Gollagunta, the chief executive officer of M&M's automotive division, said.

 

Hyundai Motor's domestic performance remained resilient even as its exports contracted for the third consecutive month in May. Overall, its sales grew 4% on year to 61,137 units. 

 

While demand for cars remained strong in May, analysts expect the impact of fuel and price hikes to weigh on demand in the coming months.  End

 

Edited by Avishek Dutta

 

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