September car sales hold steady near four lakh units as top brands see mixed results

UPDATE - follow-up to September 2026 car sales: 4 out of top 5 carmakers record MoM decline: India's passenger vehicle wholesale numbers stayed flat at nearly four lakh units in September 2026, with Maruti Suzuki keeping the lead while Kia and Renault stood out as the only makers to post month-on-month growth. Tata Motors grabbed second place by beating Mahindra by a tiny margin of just 227 units. Maruti sold 1,68,744 units, which is up 27 percent from last year but down 4.7 percent from August. Tata registered 56,972 units, and Mahindra closely followed with 56,745 units.

Brand Performance and Launches

Hyundai posted 49,998 units, falling 8.1 percent from August. Kia proved to be the star performer by growing both month-on-month by 10.2 percent and year-on-year by 41 percent to reach 32,017 units. Toyota recorded 27,652 units, while JSW MG Motor and Nissan reported 5,226 units and 2,960 units respectively. Renault sold 3,399 units, marking a 19.6 percent jump from August. Carmakers rolled out several new updates and models during the month, including Maruti's Baleno facelift, Tata's new Aeris, Mahindra's updated Thar OG, and Kia's Carens CNG variants.

Context

Monthly wholesale figures track the number of vehicles carmakers ship from factories to local dealerships across the country. These numbers give a clear picture of retail demand and manufacturing trends in India's massive auto market before cars actually reach customers.