March ended with a whole bunch of data related to car sales in India. Not only did we receive figures from various automakers regarding their sales record for the past month, various agencies also published results of the last fiscal year, i.e., April 2016 – March 2017. So, we took our share of time to analyse the complete data and then present you a thorough analysis of the industry’s sales numbers.
In the past fiscal year, Indian customers bought 30,43,201 new cars. This translates to around 8,338 cars sold every single day. The industry recorded a growth rate of 9.09%, as compared to the preceding fiscal year, i.e., April 2015 – March 2016. This is the highest growth rate recorded in the past 5 years. As a result, it appears the entire hu-ha-ha about the industry suffering from demonetisation wasn’t really a major cause of concern for the new car market.
Now let’s focus on the car sales figures of the past month – March 2017. Nothing major changed as far as top automakers are concerned. Maruti Suzuki continued to lead the market single-handedly with an overall share of 45.91%. Hyundai has managed to hold on to its second spot and isn’t likely to face any major challenge in the next few years. However, the third spot is where we are seeing some heavy competition.
Currently, this rank is occupied by Mahindra with a share of 8.29%. However, Honda and Tata Motors are following closely, at 6.81% and 5.55%, respectively. Tata is betting big on its upcoming range of products, including the Nexon compact SUV to rope in satisfactory sales numbers, and thus claim this spot. Meanwhile, Honda hasn’t really been able to score some brownie points anywhere in the segment, thanks to their half-hearted attempts like the WRV and BRV.
March 2017 – Best selling cars in India
- Alto continues its market dominance. Though the Kwid did manage to cut its sales by around 2,000, Maruti’s reach and brand loyalty in the semi-urban and rural areas is still something no other company has managed to establish. As a result, challenging the Alto’s spot is a tough call, especially for products from other manufacturers.
- A surprising run by the Baleno, as it climbed 10 spots in March 2017 to finish in the second position. The premium hatchback is now a leader in its segment and is also the second best-selling car in the country. However, we believe that this major increase is also a result of Maruti shipping the recently launched Baleno RS to its dealerships. Hence, the Baleno will likely settle around the 10,000 mark in the future.
- Amazing run by the Elite i20 with 12,394 unit sales. It is truly astonishing to see that the car is still managing satisfactory numbers, despite the presence of a value for money competitor like the Baleno.
- The Vitara Brezza crossed the 10,000 mark in March, with its chief rival – Ford EcoSport suffering a major decline and being pushed out of the top 20 best selling car list. For your information, Ford sold 4,662 units of the EcoSport last month. It’s time to bring in the facelift Ford, are you listening?
- We have no idea about who is buying over 5,000 units of the Omni and Eeco, each. We have constantly maintained that Omni is a death box on wheels with a clear absence of any sort of safety features. It is also a VERY old product. But still, Omni is the 15th best selling car in India.
March 2017 – Segment-wise car sales in India
