June: Changing Market Dynamics Of the Auto Industry The month of June pointed towards a wide performance gap between dominant players and the struggling ones in the auto industry, according to estimates by JATO Dynamics India

Vehicle sales in India increased 3.6 per cent from June 2023 to June 2024, total units sold reached 339,000 up from 327,000. The market added 12, 000vehicle sales year-over-year, economic conditions, product launches or evolving consumer needs, can be attributed for the growth. According to data released by JATO Dynamics India, Maruti Suzuki leads with 40.4 per cent market share, but slight YoY decline, Toyota recorded growth of 41.2 per cent in sales and 2.0 per cent up in market share, Mahindra surges at 22.8 per cent in sales growth, market share up 1.8 per cent. However, challenges remain for some.

Tata Motors reported an 8 per cent decline in total domestic wholesales to 74,147 units in June, down from 80,383 units a year ago. Sales of passenger vehicles, including electric vehicles, fell by 8 per cent to 43,624 units from 47,359 units in the same month last year. Kia India announced a 10 per cent year-on-year increase in total wholesales for June, reaching 21,300 units compared to 19,391 units in June 2023. Toyota Kirloskar Motor achieved its highest-ever monthly sales in June, dispatching 27,474 units to dealers, marking a 40 per cent increase from 19,608 units in June 2023. India's largest passenger car manufacturer reported total passenger vehicle sales of 1.37 lakh units compared to 1.33 lakh units last year, an increase of 3.1 per cent. Mahindra & Mahindra has seen a healthy sales growth of 23 per cent in SUV sales in June 2024. The brand sold 40,022 SUVs in the domestic market in June while 32,585 units were sold during the same period in 2023. In the first half of 2024, the brand registered an almost similar growth of 24 per cent, selling a total of 1,24,248 SUVs in the domestic market. In addition to this 7,125 SUVs have been exported till now in 2024, resulting in a growth of 3 per cent.

Explaining the wide performance gap between dominant players and the struggling ones, Ravi G Bhatia, president and director, JATO Dynamics India, an automotive consulting firm, said, "Driven by Maruti Suzuki's dominant position and the pack following Maruti, namely Hyundai, Tata and Mahindra; these top 4 players account for 80 per cent of the market. The main reasons for the dominant positioning is line up of offerings, brand strength, distribution and after sales service. That leaves a very small portion of the market for the rest of the players who, despite weak shares and losses, are maintaining a presence in the market. However, the market still has some strength left as sales have increased by 3.6 per cent despite the pressure on dealer inventory being high."