India PV sales jump 33% in July; Maruti, Tata, M&M lead

Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer – Marketing and Sales at MSIL, attributed the momentum to three factors that took effect last year: the September GST rate cut, followed by repo and interest rate cuts. "Fundamentally, these three tailwinds are very much there," Banerjee told reporters. He said the company saw "all-round growth across segments from entry-level small cars to mid SUVs to bigger SUVs" in July, and that CNG models remained in strong demand with 83,000 units sold.

The broader PV industry sold roughly 3.50 lakh units in July last year, meaning the current run rate implies an addition of roughly 15,000-20,000 units month-on-month. The gains come despite several price hikes during the year, suggesting demand is absorbing higher sticker prices.

Among two-wheeler makers, Hero MotoCorp reported 5,01,403 units, up 21.6% from 4,12,397 a year earlier. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India sold 4,76,436 units, a 2% increase from 4,66,331. Royal Enfield and Suzuki Motorcycle India also posted growth.

The July data extends a trend that began in the second half of last fiscal year. The question for the coming months is whether the rate-driven demand surge can hold through the festival season, which typically starts in August and runs through November. Maruti's Banerjee said the company sees the three tailwinds as durable, but did not give a specific full-year volume forecast.