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AUTO PUNDITZ
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October 2021 Car Sales – Snapshot

Around 2,60,067 passenger cars were sold in the Indian market for October 2021. The sales dropped a massive 22.1 percent YoY. The shortage of semiconductors crippled the entire supply chain during the festive season and the drop in dispatches has hit both the OEMs and PV dealers hard.


The demand for cars has been on the rise post-covid and the new model launches from the OEMs have kept the buzz on among the car buyers. The need for personal mobility and increasing economic activity ensured that the passenger vehicle sales bounce back strongly. Hence, Passenger Vehicle sales saw an upward trend in the first half of FY2021-22 and the sales shot up an impressive 57.7% when compared to the same period in H1 FY2020-21 (source). However; the shortage of semiconductor chips hit the supply scenario hard and the OEMs grappled with production constraints.


Festivities started in India in full swing with Dussehra/Durga Puja being celebrated in October 2021. Buyers were also lining up to finalize their purchases before Diwali (slated in Nov'21 first week). The automobile showrooms were brimming with customers and the demand was the ever highest in the year. The supply shortage emerged as the spoilsport and put the brakes on the sales volumes.

  • Maruti Suzuki recorded the highest drop in Market Share YoY and the volumes fell by 33.4 percent in Oct’21 v/s Oct’20. Maruti has lost significant Market share this year and should be a matter of concern for the OEM.

  • Hyundai India sales dropped too by 34.6 percent YoY and lost considerable Market Share too.

  • Tata continues to perform well (source) and has been able to stabilize at the No.3 position. It gained the highest Market Share in Oct'21 over last year and has seen great traction for all its models. The launch of Punch has given the much-required push for the Indian auto major and was just 3k units short of Hyundai! With all guns blazing; Tata Motors is now eyeing the second spot in the Indian Passenger Vehicle sales and Hyundai should be concerned.

  • M&M volumes increased by 9.4 percent in Oct 2021 over Oct 2020 and was placed at the fourth spot in the ranking table. The Indian automaker had a very successful launch of the XUV700 and over 17 percent of Mahindra's volumes came from the new model.

  • Kia was pushed to the fifth rank and sales dropped over 22 percent YoY.

  • Toyota maintained its lead over the likes of Renault and Honda to place itself in the sixth spot. Innova alone contributed to over 49 percent of Toyota's sales in October 2021!

  • Renault sold 8,910 units of its cars in Oct 2021 compared to 11,005 units in the same period last year. The majority of sales for Renault come from Kwid, Triber, and Kiger.

  • Honda could manage 8,108 units in Oct 2021. The New Amaze dispatches was impacted as well and led to the decline in volumes.

  • MG sold 2,863 units in Oct 2021 compared to 3,750 units in Oct 2020. MG is now betting on Astor sales to gain Market Share. The stats should be visible from Nov'21.

  • Škoda India recorded 3,065 units dispatches! The New Kushaq has done wonders for the brand and contributed to over 78 percent of the OEM's volume!

  • Backed by Magnite's success; Nissan sold 3,913 units in Oct 2021, compared to a dismal 1,105 units in Oct 2020, and helped the OEM record YoY growth of 254 percent last month.

Market Share Graph for October 2021 –


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