In May, Tata Motors posted its highest-ever monthly sales at 43,341 units, overtaking Hyundai Motor India which sold 42,293 units. This is the second time in the last six months that Tata Motors has overtaken its South Korean rival in the highly competitive Indian passenger vehicle market.
However, people in the know said that Hyundai, the maker of Creta and Venue, could recoup lost production in June and July as it expects supplies of semiconductors to improve.
In cumulative sales for the calendar year 2022, Tata Motors is just 10,000-11,000 units behind Hyundai Motor India in the domestic market. In the first five months of 2022, Hyundai sold 218,966 units compared with Tata Motors’ 207,979 units.
Shailesh Chandra, MD of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, told ET that sales have emerged stronger every month.
“All our products are leaders in their respective segments, forming a portfolio that is rich in selections, ranging from smart trim choices to strong powertrain options, making us the only OEM catering to customer needs across petrol, diesel, CNG and EVs,” Chandra said.
While January to May saw Tata Motors registering a volumes growth of 50-60%, Hyundai Motor India saw a 10-15% decline, in part due to the problems with availability of chips.
“Both HMI plants in Chennai observed the scheduled biannual maintenance shut down, leading to no production for 6 days in the month (May 16-21). This reduced the vehicle availability in the month, affecting May sales numbers (domestic as well as exports),” said Hyundai Motor India in a statement. Experts say it will be hard for Tata Motors to sustain the performance in the coming months, especially in the face of rising competition.
