Maharashtra Leads India's Passenger Vehicle Sales in Q3 FY2025-26

Maharashtra accounted for 12.4% of total passenger vehicle sales across the country in the third quarter of financial year 2025-26 (October to December 2025), according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). The state's performance placed it well ahead of the second-ranked Uttar Pradesh, which contributed 10.8% of national sales, reflecting the geographic spread of demand across both western and northern India.

Gujarat ranked third with an 8.2% share, followed by Karnataka at 7.0% and Tamil Nadu at 6.9%. The presence of three western states — Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan — among the top ten contributors reinforces the Western Zone's position as the country's most active automobile market. The zone as a whole recorded sales of 4.21 lakh units in the quarter, the highest among all regional zones in the country.

Haryana, which benefits from proximity to the national capital and a relatively high per-capita income, contributed 6.6% of total sales. Rajasthan followed at 5.8%, while Delhi, despite being one of the country's wealthiest urban centres, recorded a 4.8% share. Analysts have attributed Delhi's comparatively moderate share in part to congestion concerns, high vehicle ownership rates, and periodic policy interventions aimed at controlling vehicular pollution in the capital region.

Madhya Pradesh and Kerala each held shares of 4.4% and 4.3% respectively, reflecting growing middle-class consumption in the heartland and the southern coastal state. Punjab contributed 4.0%, while Telangana, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar each posted shares ranging between 2.1% and 3.4%. The remaining states and union territories were collectively grouped under an "Others" category, which accounted for 14.0% of total sales — the single largest segment in the pie chart, pointing to the broad and distributed nature of passenger vehicle demand across smaller markets.

India's passenger vehicle market has undergone significant expansion over the past decade, driven by factors including rising household incomes, increased availability of vehicle financing, infrastructure development, and a growing preference for personal mobility over public transport, a trend that accelerated following the COVID-19 pandemic. The market has also seen a notable shift in consumer preference toward sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and crossovers, which now account for a majority of new passenger vehicle sales nationally.

SIAM, the apex industry body representing vehicle manufacturers operating in India, collects and publishes state-level retail sales data on a periodic basis. These figures track actual registrations at the consumer level across states and union territories, offering a more granular view of demand compared to wholesale dispatch data reported by manufacturers at the factory gate. The distinction is significant, as wholesale figures can reflect inventory movements and dealer stocking patterns rather than end-consumer purchases.

The Q3 FY2025-26 data covers the festival and post-festival period in India, which traditionally sees elevated automobile sales due to consumer sentiment, promotional schemes by manufacturers and dealers, and auspicious buying occasions. The performance of states during this quarter is therefore considered a reliable indicator of underlying demand strength heading into the final quarter of the financial year.