The year 2020 has not been too kind to the world and the auto industry is no exception. In the current fiscal year, October has been the most favourable month as there was a significant improvement in car sales due to the auspicious period of Navratri followed by the festival of Dussehra. Car sales during Diwali in November were lower than expected, however, the month of December was relatively better for the car manufacturers in India. Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, and Tata Motors continued to be the top-three highest-selling vehicle manufacturers in the country in December 2020.

Back in November, Maruti Suzuki witnessed a 2.4 per cent drop in sales. This time around, the country’s largest car manufacturer has witnessed 14.6 per cent growth in sales with 1,40,754-unit sales in December 2020 as compared to 1,22,784-unit sales in the same period last year. The top-three key contributors in cumulative sales for Maruti Suzuki in December are the Alto (18,140 units), Swift (18,131 units), and the Baleno (18,030 units).

South Korean car manufacturer, Hyundai continues to be the second bestseller in the country in December with 47,400-unit sales last month as against 37,953-unit sales in December 2019, thereby witnessing a 25 per cent growth in the last month. The top-three popular sellers for Hyundai last month were – the Venue (12,313 units), Creta (10,592 units), and the Grand i10 (10,263 units).

The third bestseller in the country, Tata Motors has sold 23,546-unit sales as against 12,785-unit sales in the same period last year. Interestingly, Tata Motors has witnessed 84 per cent growth in December 2020 as against the same period in 2019. The top-three popular sellers for the company last month were – the Nexon (6,835 units), the Altroz (6,600 units), and the Tiago (6,066 units).

Mahindra has outsold Kia Motors in India last month. The company has registered a 5.1 per cent growth in December 2020 with 16,050 units as compared to 15,276 units sold in December 2019. The Bolero (5,053 units), XUV300 (3,974 units), and the Scorpio (3,417 units) are the key contributors to the overall sales.

Kia Motors, relatively a newer brand in the country, continues to compete strongly in the Indian market with just a three-product line-up – Seltos, Sonet, and the Carnival. The company sold 11,818 units in December 2020 as against 4,645-unit sales in December 2019. Kia has registered an impressive 154 per cent growth in sales in India last month as compared to the same period last year. The Sonet and the Seltos have been the key contributors with 5,959-unit and 5,608-unit sales, respectively.

Renault has witnessed an 18.1 per cent drop in sales with 9,800-unit sales in December 2020 as against 9,800-unit sales in December 2019. The Triber and the Kwid are the strong selling models for the company with 4,971-unit sales and 4,335-unit sales, respectively.

Honda Amaze continues to be a strong seller for the company in India last month. Honda cumulatively sold 8,638 units last month as against 8,412-unit sales in the same period last year, thereby registering a three per cent growth in sales. Honda Amaze sales have dropped by 14 per cent with 4,385 units sold last month as against 5,077-unit sales in December 2019.

Toyota registered a 14 per cent growth in sales last month. The company sold 7,487 units in the country last month as compared to 6,544-unit sales in the same period last year. The Innova Crysta and the Glanza were the popular selling models for the company last month with 2,764-unit sales and 2,102-unit sales, respectively.

MG Motors currently has four models on sale in India – the Hector, Hector Plus, Gloster, and the ZS EV. The company sold 4,010 cumulative units in India last month, of which 3,430 units are from the Hector alone. The company has also sold 458 units of the recently introduced Gloster SUV in India last month.

The German car manufacturer, Volkswagen has outsold Ford last month. The company sales have dropped by 31.1 per cent in December with 2,401-unit sales as against 3,483-unit sales in the same period last year.

Ford has registered a 45 per cent drop in sales as well, with 1,662-unit sales in December 2020 as against 3,021-unit sales in December 2019.

Skoda has also witnessed a 35 per cent drop in sales with 1,303-unit sales in December 2020 as compared to 2,006-unit sales in the same period last year.

Nissan is also one of the car manufacturers to have witnessed a drop in sales last month. The company witnessed a 46.6 per cent drop in sales with 1,159-unit sales as compared to 2,169-unit sales in the same period last year. That said, we expect to see substantial growth in sales with the recently introduced Magnite sub-four-metre SUV.

FCA has witnessed 48.2 per cent drop in sales with 384-unit sales in December 2020 as compared to 742-unit sales in the same period last year.

Most of the major car manufacturers have already lined up with fresh product launches for the Indian market in 2021. As compared to 2020, we expect significant growth in sales this year. Improving buyer sentiments and new product launches are expected to rake in good sales for the manufactures in the current lacklustre financial year.