Compact cars and SUVs turned the tide in August as Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai led the recovery in the auto market with double digit rise in sales.

While Maruti Suzuki witnessed a 17 per cent growth riding on the sales of its compact cars, Hyundai India posted a 19 per cent surge on the back of record sales for the Creta and the Venue.

Maruti Suzuki India recorded total sales of 1,24,624 units in August 2020, a growth of 15.3 per cent over July 2020 and a 17.1 per cent rise over August 2019. Total sales include domestic sales of 1,15,325 units and 1,379 units for other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

Maruti’s offerings in the mini and compact segments — that include the Alto, S-Presso, WagonR, Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno, Tour-S and Dzire — together sold 81,665 units. The Alto and S-Presso sold 19,709 units compared with 10,123 units in August 2019, up 94.7 per cent. This surely marks the comeback of the entry-level vehicle as people opt for individual mobility as opposed to mass transport.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd registered cumulative sales of 52,609 units, of which 45,809 units are domestic and 6,800 units are exports. The Creta contributed with sales of 11,756 units while the Venue sold 8,267 units, showing that SUVs continue to be a popular choice.

Tarun Garg, director (sales, marketing and service), Hyundai Motor India Ltd, said, “HMIL posted a growth of 19.9 per cent on a comparative low base of last year. There has been a good response to Creta, Verna, Tucson, Nios, Aura and Venue. We would like to carry on with cautious optimism as uncertainty still surrounds the pandemic.”

Kia Motors is another instance of the popularity of SUVs. Kia completed a year of operations in India last month, and the Korean auto maker occupied the fifth position in the sales chart for August, selling 10,853 units (up 74 per cent year-on-year).

Mahindra & Mahindra saw its domestic passenger vehicle sales grow 1 per cent last month. Toyota Kirloskar Motor witnessed a decline in its passenger vehicle sales although there was an improvement over the preceding months.