Monthly wholesale passenger car shipments in India topped 500,000 vehicles for the first time in October 2026. According to ETAuto, the industry sold 525,000–530,000 vehicles. Growth was driven by festive demand and discounts, improved consumer sentiment, as well as GST 2.0 reforms.
Maruti Suzuki maintained a clear lead: the company’s domestic sales rose 20% year over year to 216,789 vehicles. Around 245,000 vehicles remained in the order backlog, while dealers had just 12 days’ worth of inventory, indicating that demand continued to outpace supply.
Tata Motors took second place with 73,894 vehicles, up 20.9% from a year earlier. It narrowly edged out Mahindra & Mahindra, whose sales rose 2.4% to 73,338 vehicles. Hyundai remained in fourth place, with sales up 16.7% to 62,799 vehicles, helped in part by record deliveries of the Venue.
Kia ranked among the top five automakers, selling 33,462 vehicles. The company drew on both established models and new offerings, including compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles and electric vehicles. JSW MG Motor sales rose 19% to 8,013 vehicles, while Renault’s increased 35% to 4,577.
Analysts, however, doubt that the record growth will continue after the festive season ends. A deterioration in economic indicators, rising raw material costs, production constraints and shifts in consumer sentiment could affect sales and showroom footfall. Smaller manufacturers may be particularly vulnerable.