Helped by expansion of production capacities and new launches, passenger vehicle (PV) makers reported positive growth in their domestic wholesales (dispatches to dealers) on a yearly basis in April. Carmakers cited the three tailwinds of GST 2.0, income tax relief and the reduction in the repo rates as the main engines driving sales to an all-time high.
Overall, the PV domestic sales were estimated to have grown by 27 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to around 4.5 lakh units in April, compared with 3.54 lakh units in the same month last year.
Soaring sales
The largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL), recorded an all-time high monthly domestic sales of 1,87,704 units in April, a 35.3 per cent year-on-year growth compared to 1,38,704 units in April 2025, bolstered by the expansion of two new production lines at its Kharkhoda (Haryana) and Hansalpur (Gujarat) plants, which added 2.50 lakh units each to help meet customer demand
“We have been working on getting closer to the customer, and in the last two years, we have opened one touchpoint every day across the country, and we have covered a new city. That has been our strategy, and we are now seeing dividends coming out of it. Our rural growth has been 39 per cent, and penetration has now gone to 52.3 per cent (a rise of 2.4 per cent),” said Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, MSIL, adding that the network stock as of May 1 remains at 16-17 days. He said, adding that the company has pending bookings of around 1.65 lakh cars at the moment.
Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles has secured the number two position in monthly sales with domestic wholesales of 59,000 units in April, up 30.5 per cent y-o-y compared to 45,199 units in April 2025.
M&M has reported domestic wholesales of 56,331 units, up by 8 per cent y-o-y compared to 52,330 units in the same month last year.
Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) also said it has achieved the highest-ever monthly sales for any April with domestic wholesales of 51,902 units last month, a YoY growth of 17 per cent as compared with 44,374 units in April 2025.
“We have opened the new financial year on a strong note, carrying forward the momentum built in recent months into April 2026... The encouraging response to our recent product interventions, including the new Exter, Verna, Ioniq5 and Creta Summer Edition, Grand i10 Nios Vibe Edition and Venue Knight Edition, has reinforced the competitiveness of our line-up,” Tarun Garg, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, HMIL, said.
Other carmakers such as Kia India, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, Honda Cars India and Nissan Motor India have also reported double-digit growth.
In the two-wheeler segment, market leader Hero MotoCorp has reported exponential growth because of a lower base in the same month last year. Its domestic sales grew by 84.5 per cent YoY to 5.32 lakh units as compared with 2.88 lakh units in April 2025.
Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India grew by 14.7 per cent y-o-y to 4.84 lakh units last month compared to 4.22 lakh units in the corresponding month last year.
‘Meteor’ maker Royal Enfield also has reported a growth of 37 per cent y-o-y, and Suzuki Motorcycle India grew by 3 per cent y-o-y.
Published on May 1, 2026