Leading carmakers in India – Maruti Suzuki, Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai production remain affected because of the ongoing global semiconductor shortage. India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki recorded a drop in domestic sales 8.46% to 1,40,035 units as against 1,52,983 units in February 2021.
The company highlighted that shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production of vehicles that are primarily sold in the domestic market. The carmaker took all possible measures to minimize the impact. However, sales of Maruti Suzuki’s mini cars, comprising Alto and S-Presso fell 17.81% to 19,691 units last month as compared to 23,959 in the same month in 2021. Similarly, dispatch of compact models like Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire dipped 3.38% to 77,795 units as against 80,517 cars in February 2021. Sales of utility vehicles, including Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga also fell to 25,360 units from 26,884 vehicles earlier.
Hyundai Motor India, the country’s second-largest carmaker, reported a 14.6% drop in domestic sales to 44,050 units last month as against 51,600 in February 2021. “As the industry continues to grapple with the semiconductor shortage situation, the company along with its partners is continuously exploring alternatives to ensure customers can take delivery of their most loved Hyundai cars at the earliest.”
Likewise, Toyota Kirloskar Motor said its domestic sales declined by 38% to 8,745 units in February. Honda Cars reported a 23% decline in domestic wholesales to 7,187 units for February. Yuichi Murata, Honda Cars India Director (Marketing & Sales), revealed that on the supply side, chip shortage continued to impact our production and despatches in Feb ‘22. We hope the situation improves in future so we can meet the market demand more effectively.”
But Tata Motors reported a 47% increase in passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market in February at 39,981 units compared to 27,225 units in the same period last year. Similarly, Mahindra & Mahindra highlighted that its passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market soared by 80% to 27,663 units last month as against 15,391 units in February 2021.
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Veejay Nakra, M&M Automotive Division CEO, revealed that all segments showed robust growth including SUVs at 79%, which registered the highest ever monthly volume. “We expect demand to continue to remain strong as the COVID situation eases further. We continue to closely monitor the semiconductor-related parts supply and take corrective action as appropriate.”
Furthermore, Skoda Auto India reported an over five-fold surge in sales to 4,503 units last month – riding high on the success of its mid-sized SUV Kushaq. MG Motor India stated that its retail sales surged 5% year-on-year to 4,528 units in February. It had retailed 4,329 units in February 2021.
