Indian automaker Mahindra & Mahindra logged a 20% year-on-year jump in sales of sports utility vehicles to dealers in July on strong demand for newer models and electric SUVs, while rivals struggled, data from the firms showed on Friday.
Most Indian carmakers, barring Mahindra, are struggling to grow sales in their core urban segments amid a broader industry slowdown in the world’s third-largest car market.
Having gotten off to a slow start to 2025, manufacturers are counting on a pick-up in demand from late August, buoyed by festivals, as well as tax cuts and lower interest rates.
For fiscal 2026, they expect industry-wide car sales to grow just 1%-2% on-year, compared to an industry forecast of 2% growth in 2025.
Domestic sales for Hyundai India and Tata Motors slid by a tenth each in July, as the companies suffer from stalling demand for their small cars, and older SUVs – a segment which contributes two-thirds to their dispatches.
Successful launches over the past year at Mahindra have drawn customers Hyundai and Tata Motors, with Mahindra leaping past the two to the no. 2 spot in the domestic car market, long held by Hyundai.
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However, Tata Motors, which leads sales of electric vehicles in India, reported a 42% jump in EV sale volume to a record 7,124 units.
The EV leader has seen its market share slide sharply over the last year amid rising competition from Mahindra and Chinese SAIC Motor’s Indian venture, JSW MG Motor.
Meanwhile, market leader Maruti Suzuki reported sales to dealers that were largely flat. Although it reported a 5.6% rise in the sales of small cars such as the “Swift” - the first in six months - this was offset by a 6.3% slump in SUV sales, its second straight monthly decline.
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