After a bumper 2022, all the car makers have posted strong sales in January. The industry sold 38 lakh units last year.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) sold 1.7 lakh units in January 2023, against 1.5 lakh units a year ago, an increase of 12 per cent.

India’s No. 1 car maker sold 1.51 lakh units in the domestic market, 3,775 units to other OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and 17,393 units in the overseas markets.

Maruti Suzuki India senior executive officer marketing & sales Shashank Srivastava said the industry began with a low network stock because of high retails in December.

“Therefore, the depleted inventory resulted in slightly muted retails. On the demand side, the enquiries and bookings have been steady despite price hikes done by several OEMs,” he noted.

Hyundai Motor India has registered a 16.6 per cent increase in vehicle sales at 62,276 units in January. It had sold 53,427 units a year ago.

The Korean company said it sold 27,532 SUVs, including the Tucson, Creta, Venue, Alcazar and Kona Electric. Of this Creta, itself contributed 15,037 units, the highest-ever monthly figure.

Tata Motors reported a 6.4 per cent growth in total vehicle sales at 81,069 units in January. In the year-ago period, the company’s total vehicle sales stood at 76,210 units.

Mahindra & Mahindra said it sold 64,335 vehicles, against 46,808 vehicles a year ago, an increase of 37 per cent.

In the utility vehicles segment, Mahindra sold 32,915 units despite disruptions in the supply chain of crash sensors and air bag ECUs due to the limited availability of semi-conductors.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM)’s wholesales stood at 12,835 units, recording a significant increase of 175 per cent over the same month last year. The company sold 7,328 units in January 2022.

Honda Cars India Ltd registered sales of 7,821 units in January 2023.