As per Vahan data till December 25, Maruti Suzuki’s registrations stood at 17.50 lakh units, followed by M&M with 5.81 lakh units, Tata Motors with 5.52 lakh units and Hyundai with 5.50 lakh units.
28 Dec 2025 | 10576 Views | By Kiran Murali & Ketan Thakkar
One of the major highlights of 2025 has been the overhaul in the leaderboard of the world’s third-largest passenger vehicle market’s second and third positions. Mahindra & Mahindra has sealed the No. 2 position for the first time in a calendar year, while Tata Motors edged past Hyundai Motor India ...
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One of the major highlights of 2025 has been the overhaul in the leaderboard of the world’s third-largest passenger vehicle market’s second and third positions. Mahindra & Mahindra has sealed the No. 2 position for the first time in a calendar year, while Tata Motors edged past Hyundai Motor India and is likely to become the No. 3 player, as per the vehicle registrations data for the calendar year 2025.
According to Vahan data till December 25, M&M’s registrations were around 5.81 lakh units in the calendar year, against 4.90 lakh units in 2024. Tata Motors saw its registrations increase to 5.52 lakh units from 5.38 lakh units, while Hyundai’s registrations fell to 5.50 lakh units from 5.60 lakh units last year.
The rise of M&M and Tata Motors to the second and third positions clearly reflects their robust strategy, with a diverse portfolio of vehicles, particularly SUVs, focusing not just on urban areas but also on semi-urban and rural parts. Additionally, these two players have gained a head start in the electric vehicle segment with multiple offerings, bringing in incremental volumes.
Hyundai, meanwhile, has been weighed down by its heavy dependence on the Creta to defend market share at a time when rivals are rolling out new models at an unprecedented pace. Beyond the Creta, volumes were harder to come by. The transition from the older to the newer generation Venue disrupted momentum, while the rest of the portfolio struggled to compensate for the volume loss.
Its performance in EVs has also lagged. After starting the year as one of the top three EV car sellers, just behind Tata Motors and JSW MG, Hyundai has since slipped sharply. It has now fallen not only behind Tata, JSW MG and M&M, but also trails newer and premium players such as VinFast, Kia and BMW in December.
For M&M, the Scorpio and Bolero models did the heavy lifting in semi-urban and rural markets, where demand remained relatively resilient. In urban areas, models including the Scorpio N, Thar Roxx, and the XUV range helped sustain momentum. It is also getting incremental volumes from its ground-up EVs, the BE 6 and 9E. While still early in their lifecycle, these products added meaningful numbers in the nascent EV market.
Tata Motors, on the other hand, staged a steady comeback after a slow start to the year. The Curvv, launched in 2024, might not have scaled up as quickly as the company may have expected, but it resulted in incremental volumes during the year. The launch of the Harrier EV also helped the automaker hold on to its leadership in the electric car market. The Nexon and Punch models also continue to witness sustained demand, helping the company sail through the competition and eventually edge past Hyundai.
With Sierra sales slated to begin in January, offering multiple powertrain options, along with new petrol versions of the Harrier and Safari and several other launches, Tata Motors is gearing up for a more aggressive push in the market going forward. M&M is also preparing to step up the competition, with an updated XUV700 expected in January and the recently launched electric SUV, the XEV 9e.
Amid increasing competition and a dip in market share, Hyundai recently laid out a roadmap anchored on six strategic priorities, including product portfolio expansion, deeper localisation and electrification, to revive growth. The automaker plans to launch 26 new models and upgrades by the end of this decade, which will include six EVs and 20 ICE vehicles, across different segments and price points.
Maruti Suzuki remained India’s largest carmaker with registrations totalling 17.50 lakh units in 2025, up from 16.40 lakh units in 2024.