Tata Motors has done an encore. Having clocked half-a-million wholesales in the domestic market in CY2022 – 526,789 units and 59% YoY growth – which was its best-ever performance in a calendar year, the carmaker has now gone ahead and bettered that in FY2023.

The company has reported total wholesales of 538,640 units, which is a 45% YoY increase over FY2022’s 370,372 units, and 2.5% better than CY2022’s 12-month sales, albeit in a fiscal-to-calendar year comparison. This translates into average monthly sales of 44,886 units, the highest Tata has achieved. January 2023, with 47,987 units, has been its best-ever monthly performance. An interesting statistic is Tata Motors’ cumulative 10-year PV sales have hit the 2.39 million mark

The company, which retails seven PVs – Altroz, Tigor, Tiago, Nexon, Punch, Harrier and the Safari – in the domestic market, has capitalised on surging demand for its SUVs, particularly the Nexon and the Punch compact SUVs which were the No. 1 and the fifth-highest-selling SUVs in India in CY2022.

With the tailwind of SUV demand firmly behind it, Tata Motors saw its quartet – Nexon, Punch, Harrier and Safari – contribute an estimated 355,810 units or 66% of total sales in FY2023.

What has also helped Tata Motors’ accelerated growth is its first-mover advantage in the fast-growing electric vehicle market, where it has an over 80% market share. The company currently retails the Nexon EV, Tigor EV and Xpres-T (for fleet buyers) and the recently launched Tiago EV. As per the company, it has logged wholesales of 50,043 EVs in FY2023, which marks strong 154% YoY growth (FY2022: 19,668 EVs).

Commenting on the company’s FY2023 performance, Shailesh Chandra, Managing Director, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and Tata Passenger Electric Mobility said, “FY2023 has set a new record for passenger vehicle sales in India. The steep growth witnessed by the industry was driven by the post-Covid pent-up demand in the early part of the year, the launch of several new vehicles and easing of the semiconductor shortage. While SUVs and EVs led this growth, customers’ rising preference for safe vehicles and smart technology features was equally pronounced. Tata Motors scaled a new sales peak by posting its highest ever annual domestic sales of 5,38,640 units, achieving a robust 46% sales growth over FY22 and registering its third successive year of industry beating growth.”

He added, “Tata Motors crossed the significant landmark of 50,000 EV sales in FY2023, its highest ever, to post a significant growth of 154% over FY22. In addition, we also recorded the highest ever quarterly and monthly EV sales of 15,960 (Q4 FY2023) and 6,509 units (Mar 2023) respectively. EV penetration in our portfolio continued to increase from around 7% (Q1 FY2023) to around 12% (Q4 FY2023) of our total sales. Looking ahead, we expect the demand for personal vehicles to remain robust with the trend of electrification further strengthening as more options are made available to customers plus support from a rapidly growing and improving ecosystem. However, the growth rate of the passenger vehicle industry may moderate due to a strong base effect as well as macro factors including hardening interest rates, rising inflation, and the cost impact from progressive regulatory norms. We continue to stay agile, carefully monitoring the supply situation, particularly semiconductors and any potential waves of Covid.”