Passenger vehicle (PV) market leaders Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai on Saturday said wholesales declined in December, although homegrown majors Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra reported growth, even as the semiconductor shortage continued to impact output.
India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India reported a 4% fall in wholesales to 1,53,149 units in December compared with a year earlier. Domestic sales slipped 13% to 1,30,869.
“The shortage [of electronic components] primarily affected the production of vehicles sold in the domestic market,” Maruti said in a statement. The auto major reported a 13% year-on-year growth in wholesales in 2021 as it dispatched 13.97 lakh units to dealers.
MSI senior ED (Marketing and Sales) Shashank Srivastava told PTI the company is optimistic about 2022 with pending orders alone exceeding 2.3 lakh units. However, there is still uncertainty regarding the state of the economy and the semiconductor shortage, he said.
Hyundai Motor India reported a drop of 26.6% in total wholesales to 48,933 units in December. Domestic dispatches dipped 31.8% to 32,312. Total dispatches rose 21.6% in 2021 to 6,35,413.
Tata Motors reported a 50% jump in total PV sales to 35,299 units in December.
M&M also reported a 10% rise in domestic PV sales to 17,722 units last month.
“We have seen growth in segments, including PVs, commercial vehicles and international operations, [due] to... strong demand across the product portfolio,” M&M CEO (Automotive Division) Veejay Nakra said.
