August 2018 Car Sales – Snapshot

We have been consistently trying to interpret the data more accurately and are bringing newer additions/changes to the reports we share on a monthly basis. This month for the OEM-wise car sales snapshot; we have bifurcated Maruti & Nexa volumes. Though the bifurcation is debatable as the parent OEM of both brands are same; however the dealer channel and models are clearly different. Also the growth pattern is varied – Ex: In Aug’18; while Maruti degrew -5.3% YoY, Nexa grew 3.4%. Also note that Nexa models alone contribute to a staggering 10.2% Market Share! Infact; Nexa’s Market Share has grown 0.6% YoY v/s Maruti’s YoY Market Share drop of -1.1%! In totality, Maruti + Nexa Market Share is still >50% (51.6% to be precise) and both brands together are shaping the parent OEMs dominance pretty well.

Aug’18 was a tough month for car makers – With devastating floods in one of the biggest automobile market (Kerala); even OEMs weren’t prepared on how to tackle the calamity. Do note that Maruti has the highest market share (59%) in Kerala amongst all South Indian states. The scenario remains the same for many other OEMs as well. Hence, any drop in Kerala volumes is reflected in the national volumes. Unfortunately, the catastrophe occurred during the biggest festival of the year for Kerala (Onam) and the loss of life & property was undescribable.

In Aug’18; apart from Nexa, Tata, Toyota & Ford no OEMs registered a YoY growth. The upcoming festive season remains the biggest hope for the automobile sector. Sep’18 has Krishna Janmashtami & Ganesha Chaturthi to elate the festive mood.