SUVs drive April auto sales up 4% as entry-level buyers hold back
As per data released by industry body
Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers
(SIAM), as many as 348,847 units were dispatched from factories to dealerships in April, which is an increase of 3.9% over 335,629 units sold in the year-ago period. This is the highest-ever sales in absolute volumes recorded for the month of April in the local market.
Automakers in India mostly report wholesale dispatches from factories and not retail sales to customers.
Sales of three-wheelers in the month under consideration dipped marginally - by 0.7% to 49,441 units. Those of two-wheelers too were in the red dropping by about 17% to 1,458,784 units in April. While sales of motorcycles declined by 22.7% to 871,666 units, those of scooters fell by 5.7% to 548,370 units.
Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM confirmed, 'Passenger vehicles segment posted its highest ever sales of April in 2025 of 3.49 lakh units, with a growth of 3.9% as compared to April 2024. Three-wheelers de-grew marginally by (-) 0.7% compared to April of previous year, with sales of 0.49 lakh units. The two-wheeler segment de grew by (-) 16.7% in April 2025, as compared to April 2024, with sales of 14.59 lakh units, due to high base effect of April last year, while it is likely to pick up in coming months.'
Senior industry executives expect car sales to remain muted and grow by about 2% in the ongoing financial year, albeit on a high base, due to adverse macro-economic factors in the ongoing financial year.
'Without revival of the small car market, growth in the domestic industry will remain muted. To buy a carpriced over Rs 10 lakh, you need to have annual household income of more than Rs 12 lakh. How can the car market get to high growth when 88% of households earn less than $14,000 a year',
Maruti Suzuki
Chairman R C Bhargava said in a post-earnings call recently, adding that 60-70% of consumers today do not have the option to buy a carbecause of affordability issues.
Two-wheeler sales, though, are expected to fare better driven by consumer demand in rural areas. Market leader
Hero MotoCorp
in it's post-results call said it expects two-wheeler sales this fiscal to grow by 6-7% on back of favourable monsoons, strengthening of the rural economy, revision in income tax slabs which are expected to put more money in hands of motorcycle buyers. To be sure, vehicle prices in the segment have risen recently - by about 2% - on account of implementation of OBD2 (onboard diagnostic norms), but industry watchers do not expect much impact of demand because of the price revision on this count.
'Auto industry smoothly transitioned to the new regulatory regime of 2nd stage of On Board Diagnostics (OBD) 2 regulation for two and three-wheelers from April 2025 onwards, in addition to rolling out E-20 compliant gasoline vehicles across the country from this month', Menon said.
Category
April 2024
April 2025
% Change
PassengerVehicle /
3,35,629/
3,48,847/
3.9
Three-wheelers/
49,774/
49,441/
-0.7%
Two-wheelers/
17,51,393/
14,58,784/
-16.7%
Domestic sales only
Source :
Society of Indian Automobile
Manufacturers (SIAM)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
24 minutes ago
- Time of India
Logistics a key enabler for Indian automotive sector's growth: SIAM executive
Logistics has become a critical enabler for the Indian automotive sector , and contributed to its 7.3 per cent growth in FY25, according to Tapan Ghosh , chairman of the Society of Indan Automobile Manufacturers ( SIAM ) Logistics Group & vice president (sales) at Hyundai Motor India. 'There is an urgent need for smarter, greener, and more responsible logistics solutions,' Ghosh said at SIAM's 11th Automotive Logistics Conclave, held in the national capital Delhi. The conclave, with the theme 'Enhancing Efficiencies in Automotive Logistics,' explored the sector's evolving needs amid rising vehicle demand, growing complexity in supply chains, and a push for green and digital transformation. SD Chhabra, co-chairman of the SIAM Logistics Group & executive officer (parts, accessories & logistics) at Maruti Suzuki India, in turn, said the industry was moving towards increased use of rail for dispatch and adopting new technologies for better shipment tracking and partner coordination. Hitendra Malhotra, member (operations & business development), Railway Board, Ministry of Railways, highlighted the government's push to introduce specialised wagons with higher car-carrying capacities, including double-decker designs suited for SUVs. 'These changes aim to support the expanding logistical needs of the automobile sector,' Malhotra said. Sustainability in Logistics The participants also discussed the industry's growing responsibility to reduce environmental impact. Speakers from Think Gas, MapmyIndia, Mahindra & Mahindra, Safexpress, and APLL VASCOR stressed the importance of adopting eco-friendly logistics practices and aligning with India's broader green mobility objectives, according to a statement by SIAM. SIAM, in the statement, said the industry is prepared to adopt and leverage digital tools and invest in infrastructure to utilise logistics as a key pillar of the Indian automobile sector's growth. It, however, sought more policy support. The event also saw the participation of senior representatives from companies and institutions such as the Asian Institute of Transport Development (AITD), Axestrack Software Solutions, DPIIT, Chetak Logistics, Gujarat Pipavav Port, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, Transglobal Carriers, and Ashok Leyland.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
24 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Mumbai ultra-luxury home sales jumps 20% in H1 to record ₹14,751 cr: Report
Sales of ultra-luxury homes, each costing Rs 10 crore and above, in Mumbai rose 20 per cent in January-June this year to a record Rs 14,751 crore on strong demand, according to a report. Property consultant India Sotheby's International Realty (ISIR) and data analytics firm CRE Matrix on Tuesday released a report on Mumbai luxury housing market (both primary and secondary). As per the data, the sales of luxury homes (Rs 10 crore and above) in Mumbai in value terms, increased 20 per cent to Rs 14,751 crore in the first six months of this year, from Rs 12,285 crore in the corresponding period of the preceding year. In terms of volume, sales of ultra-luxury homes rose 11 per cent to 692 units in January-June period this year, from 622 units in the year-ago period. "Mumbai's luxury real estate market is at a pivotal moment. Record sales in H1 2025 signal sustained appetite for ultra-premium homes, especially in established micro-markets like Worli, Prabhadevi, Tardeo, Malabar Hill, and Bandra West," ISIR Executive Director Sudershan Sharma said. The high demand is driven by better infrastructure and fresh supply of luxury homes, he added. CRE Matrix founder & CEO Abhishek Kiran Gupta noted that there is a sustained buyer interest in the Mumbai luxury housing market. In terms of volumes, the primary market performed better indicating that buyers are preferring newly built luxury homes, with better specs and amenities. As per the data, the sales of luxury homes in primary market rose to 501 units during January-June this year, from 422 units in the year-ago period. But, the deals in the secondary (re-sale) market fell to 191 units from 200 units. In value terms, the sales of luxury homes in the primary market surged to Rs 11,008 crore from Rs 8,752 crore. The secondary market also saw slight increase in sales to Rs 3,743 crore, from Rs 3,533 crore, despite fall in volumes. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Time of India
24 minutes ago
- Time of India
Cement shares surge up to 8% today. What's fueling the rally?
Cement shares rose sharply after strong Q1FY26 results highlighted improved profitability and demand revival. Companies like India Cements, Dalmia Bharat, and Birla Corp led the gains, with optimism rising on better realisations, capacity expansions, and infrastructure-driven volume growth. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Shares of cement companies were in the spotlight on Tuesday, witnessing gains of up to 7.5% during intraday trade. The positive momentum was largely driven by strong operational performance reported by companies in their June quarter (Q1FY26) earnings, which highlighted improved profitability and healthy demand the gainers, India Cements shares rallied 7.5% to Rs 368.8, Dalmia Bharat shares surged 3.4% to Rs 2,341.90, Birla Corporation shares were up by 7.2% to their day's high of Rs 1,490.10, while Ramco Cements recorded gains of 3.8% to hit Rs 1, counters like Ambuja Cements rose 2% to Rs 625, Shree Cement by 2.8%, JK Cements by 1.9%, and JK Lakshmi Cement went up by 2.6% to Rs 1,020.85The upbeat sentiment across cement counters comes amid reports of improved year-on-year profitability for major players during Q1FY26. Volume growth, coupled with better realisation, appears to be supporting this are now focusing on expanding production capacities and strengthening their regional presence to drive future growth. For instance, UltraTech Cement aims to ramp up capacity from around 192 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) currently to over 217 mtpa by there is an emphasis on operational efficiency initiatives, including targeted reductions in production costs over the next few years, which could further enhance recent surge in cement demand follows a challenging phase last year, when the sector grappled with muted demand amid lower government spending ahead of the general elections and disruptions due to with infrastructure spending picking up and project execution improving, especially in the second half of the previous fiscal year, demand trends are showing signs of ahead, sector participants expect a robust recovery, backed by infrastructure development, housing expansion, and short-term challenges such as overcapacity and competitive pricing pressures remain, capacity expansions and cost rationalisation efforts are likely to strengthen the sector's long-term growth the cement sector's growth continues to be volume-driven, supported by infrastructure projects, housing developments, and metro connectivity initiatives across the read: Beyond 1:1 bonus issue, why HDFC Bank shares remain top pick after Q1 results Though pricing pressures are likely to persist in the near term due to competitive intensity, the demand backdrop, driven by public and private sector investments, provides a positive medium-term outlook.(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)
