Car sales cross five lakh units in October on festival demand

Domestic passenger vehicle dispatches crossed the five-lakh mark for the first time in October, driven by strong festival demand and record sales from major automakers.

Sales Numbers

Wholesales for October are estimated between 5.25 lakh and 5.3 lakh units, compared with 4.6 lakh units in October 2025. This marks a year-on-year growth of about 13 to 15 percent despite a high base from the previous year. Maruti Suzuki led the market with domestic dispatches of 2.12 lakh units, showing a 20 percent yearly increase. Tata Motors saw a 21 percent rise to reach 73,894 units. Mahindra & Mahindra posted a 2 percent growth with 73,338 units, while Hyundai registered a 16.7 percent increase to 62,799 units.

Market Factors

Partho Banerjee, a senior executive officer at Maruti Suzuki, noted that the industry landed in the 5.25 to 5.3 lakh range. Industry leaders state that October wholesales mainly reflect carmakers sending stock to dealers ahead of peak festival deliveries for Dhanteras and Diwali in early November. Gaurav Vangaal, associate director for light vehicle production forecasting at Mobility Global, explained that actual October vehicle registrations might drop compared to last year because many festive deliveries moved into November. Hyundai Motor India MD and CEO Tarun Garg pointed out that strong festival demand and good momentum in local and export markets helped set the record. Mahindra & Mahindra automotive business president Velusamy R added that a refreshed product line also kept demand high.

Context

The recent auto sector growth follows previous changes in tax rates and borrowing costs that improved vehicle affordability for buyers. Strong sales momentum has continued across the financial year following these adjustments.