Having ended FY2017 on a strong note with a year-on-year growth of 9.23 percent and crossing the 3 million sales landmark, the passenger vehicle segment has begun FY2018 on a robust note. Passenger cars, along with SUVs, are benefiting from a combination of new models, refreshed variants and an uptick in consumer sentiment.
For most of FY2017, accelerating growth in SUV sales was the driver for PV numbers. But now it seems sales of passenger cars are also seeing sustained momentum. On the back of sales of 190,788 units (+17.36%) in April, the May 2017 tally is 166,630 units (+4.80), adding up to 357,418 units for the two-month period (+11.15%).
The Top 10 models
The entry level Alto, which was also the No. 1 car in May 2016 (19,874), has seen consistent demand over the past year and May 2017 was no different with 23,618 buyers preferring to put their money on India’s best-selling model. The hatchback remains the leader by far, selling around 762 units for each day last month.
Alto siblings Swift (16,352 units), Wagon R (15,471 units) and the Baleno (14,629) follow while the Dzire and Celerio taken seventh and ninth positions respectively.
Hyundai Motor India with its Grand i10 (12,984 units / No. 5), Elite i20 (10,667 units / No. 6) and Eon (5,330 units / No. 10) makes its presence felt in the overall best-sellers list.
At No. 7 is the new Maruti Dzire with sales of 9,073 units. Considering the latest avatar of the popular was launched just a month ago, it makes for an impressive debut on the sales front. Expect the Dzire to gradually climb up the sales chart.
Renault India’s Kwid drives in at No. 8 with 6,990 units, considerably higher than the 5,600 units it sold a year ago.
The Celerio, at No. 9 (6,142 units), has dropped one place from its May 2016 score (7,379 units), indicative that demand for this hatchback is flagging.
The sales trends of the past two months reveal that the coming year is set to be an exciting one for the automobile industry, what with a flurry of new models and variants planned for launch in the passenger car segment.
Top 10 Passenger Vehicles – May 2017
PV, CV and Two-Wheeler Sales in May 2017
Top 10 Two-Wheelers – May 2017
Top 5 Utility Vehicles – May 2017