November 2017 saw a significant increase in car sales numbers, as compared to the same month last year. However, November 2016 had seen a major drop in sales due to demonetisation. As a result, comparing year-on-year numbers don’t really translate the real picture. But several months have passed since demonetisation and GST made a dent in the car industry and the market has slowly started to show signs of growth. Hence, despite the year-end closing in, major carmakers have reported two-digit growth numbers last month.
Maruti Suzuki, the market leader, recorded a y-o-y growth of 14.3%, clocking sales of 1,44,297 units. The company is also on-track to register its best-ever fiscal sales figures. During the last fiscal, the company had 11,01,900 unit sales. However, Maruti has already clocked 11,87,735 units, with 4 months left in this fiscal. With such growth numbers, the company is positive to meet its sales target of 2 million units by 2020.
Meanwhile, Hyundai continues to cling to the second spot with 44,008 unit sales during the November 2017. The company has recorded some extremely positive numbers for the Grand i10, elite i20 and the new-gen Verna.
Another manufacturer worth noticing is Tata Motors, who has finally managed to dethrone Mahindra to take the third spot. The company is riding successfully on its latest set of products – Tiago, Tigor, Hexa and Nexon. Interestingly, Tata has set the target for being the third largest carmaker till 2020. With the goal fulfilled in the short-term, it would be interesting to see whether the company can hold on to its position and achieve the goal well in advance.
Having talked about the top 3 carmakers in the country, let’s now see the best-selling cars for November 2017.
Best-selling cars of November 2017
| 10 Best-selling Cars | Units |
| Maruti Alto | 24,166 |
| Maruti Dzire | 22,492 |
| Maruti Baleno | 17,769 |
| Maruti Vitara Brezza | 14,458 |
| Maruti Wagon R | 14,038 |
| Maruti Swift | 13,337 |
| Hyundai Grand i10 | 13,249 |
| Hyundai Elite i20 | 10,236 |
| Hyundai Creta | 8,528 |
| Maruti Celerio | 8,437 |
Key Insights – India car sales November 2017
Launch of the new Hyundai Verna has gone in favour of the Korean manufacturer as it has overtaken the Honda City and is close behind the Maruti Ciaz.
Jeep Compass is the only good news for Fiat Chrysler Automotive in India. The Compass clocked 2,828 unit sales, while all other Fiat cars sold just 72 units in the entire month.
Renault is suffering as a brand. Demand for the Kwid has been going down and the recently launched Captur hasn’t managed to strike any major chord with the customers.
The freshly launched Ford EcoSport facelift sold 5,474 units in November. However, it didn’t really manage to attract buyers from the Vitara Brezza, which clocked an alarming figure of 14,458 units.
Ford Figo is suffering big time, with just 599 units sold in the last month. It recorded a month-on-month drop of 46.13%!