Utility vehicle (UV) exports increased by 50.5 per cent in May, while domestic wholesales and production went up by 17.6 per cent and 26.9 per cent respectively, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
The export growth has been led by companies like Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), Honda Cars India, and Volkswagen India, the data showed. Hyundai exported 14,400 units of passenger vehicles (PVs) in May, up 31 per cent from May 2023. PVs comprise passenger cars as well as utility vehicles. A company official said that exports last year in May were affected due to a shortage of semiconductor chips and therefore a low base effect is pushing the exports up in May 2024.
HMIL also forms a critical part of Hyundai Motor Corporation’s global export hub, with exports spanning across Africa, the Middle East, and other countries including Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, Honda Cars’ exports increased by 11 times in May to 6,521 units, up from a meagre 587 units in May 2023. Volkswagen India too registered a rise in PV export volumes to 5,839 units in May, up from 3,222 units in the same month last year.
European car major Skoda Auto Volkswagen India (SAVWIPL) announced at the end of May that it has manufactured over 1.5 million vehicles at its Chakan facility in Pune since it commenced operations at the plant in 2009. These include models from Volkswagen and Skoda, such as Skoda Kushaq, Slavia, and Volkswagen Taigun. The Skoda-Volkswagen Group exports over 30 per cent of its car production in India to 40 global markets. Piyush Arora, managing director and chief executive officer, SAVWIPL, said recently that as they outline their expansion plan in India, they aim to elevate India’s position as a global hub for automotive manufacturing.
While UV exports were up, exports of passenger cars witnessed a dip of 19.6 per cent. Passenger car sales were also down by 11.1 per cent and production was down by 13 per cent in May.
Overall domestic PV wholesale was up 4.2 per cent in May, while retail sales were down by nearly 1 per cent.
Companies like Toyota Kirloskar Motors, Maruti Suzuki India, Volkswagen India, and Mahindra and Mahindra posted a significant rise in production numbers in May. HMIL production numbers were slightly down due to the one-week maintenance shutdown at its Sriperumbudur plant.
SIAM data showed that Volkswagen India produced 10,666 cars in May compared to 4,362 cars in May 2023; M&M produced 41,595 units in May, up from 31,022 units in the same month last year; MSIL produced 189,964 units compared to 176,218 units.
Two-wheeler exports grow 20 per cent in May:
Two-wheeler exports posted a 20.2 per cent jump in May to 312,418 units. Of this, scooter exports grew by 25 per cent to 50,844 units and motorcycle exports by 19.2 per cent to 261,310 units.
Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India (HMSI) exports grew from 18,249 units in the previous year to 41,458 units in May this year. TVS Motor exports grew from 66,605 units last year to 88,450 units, while Bajaj Auto exports grew from 112,885 units to 117,142 units in May 2024.
