Carmakers calibrate dispatches amid inventory pile-up at dealerships

Passenger vehicle wholesales are estimated to have declined 2-3% in August as several major carmakers calibrated dispatches from the factory to the dealership amid high inventory levels.

“In the month of August, we dispatched 145,570 vehicles. We are trying to calibrate our dispatches a little. We have reduced dispatches by 13,000 vehicles in the month of August. And we feel the industry should be around 350,000-355,000 vehicles,” says Partho Banerjee, senior executive director, marketing and sales at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd.

Car wholesales stood at 361,231 in August 2023.

Banerjee says the carmaker’s focus is that its channel partners are able to have a reasonably healthy stock to sell the vehicles. “Our retail is in line with the wholesale because of which our network stock which in the beginning of August was 38 days has now come down to 36 days,” he explains.

Maruti Suzuki’s dispatch corrections are in line with its retail sales. “We are trying to keep on correcting the network stock, but at the same time, I would like to share that since the festive season is coming, it is not prudent now to further go down, because we are almost at 36 days of stock,” says Banerjee.

India’s second-largest carmaker Hyundai Motor India Ltd registered wholesales of 49,525 units in the domestic market in August, down from 53,830 units in the same month last year. SUVs, led by models like Creta, Venue and Exter remain a key growth driver for HMIL in 2024 with 66.8% contribution to domestic sales, says Tarun Garg, whole-time director and chief operating officer, HMIL.

Homegrown carmaker Tata Motors’ passenger vehicle wholesales fell 3% year-on-year to 44,142 units last month. Its total electric vehicle sales declined 5% to 5,935 units.

Mahindra & Mahindra, however, bucked the trend and sold 43,277 vehicles in the domestic market in August, a growth of 16% compared to same month last year.

Japanese automaker Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported a wholesale of 30,879 units in August including exports of 2290 units, marking a 35% year-on-year growth compared to August 2023 when it sold 22,910 units.

South Korean automaker Kia continues to strengthen its presence in the Indian market with 22,523 units domestic sales in the month of August 2024, up 17.19% year-on-year compared to the 19,219 units sold in the corresponding month of the last year. The new Sonet is gaining traction from customers with 10,073 units sold. The Sonet was followed by Kia Seltos with 6,536 units, while the brands Carens and EV6 recorded sales of 5,881 and 33 units, respectively.

JSW MG Motor India recorded retail sales of 4,571 units in August 2024, a 9% year- over- year increase over August 2023. EVs comprised 35% of the total units sold during the month.