Indian auto sales to dealers climb in August as demand stays healthy (updated)

Hyundai Motor India

01/09/2026 13:11

Rewrites, adds details, changes media packaging code
By Saikeerthi .
Sept 1 (Reuters) - Indian automakers' sales to dealers advanced in August from a year earlier as demand in Asia's third-largest economy stayed strong heading into the festive season, data showed on Tuesday. 
   The year-over-year lift was also in part as buyers had held back purchases in August 2025 before New Delhi's tax cuts took effect.
Maruti Suzuki MRTI.NS, India's top automaker by sales, reported a 21.3% increase in total sales in August to 219,220 units. Sales dropped 9.2% sequentially, which the firm attributed to fewer working days.
Rivals Mahindra & Mahindra MAHM.NS, Hyundai Motor India HYUN.NS and Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles TAMO.NS posted sales a rise of 42%, 8.8%, and 56%, respectively, from a year earlier.
Data released on Monday showed India's economy expanded by a steeper-than-expected 7.8% in the April-June quarter as an investment boom and manufacturing strength added to already-solid consumer demand.
The upbeat auto sales come despite elevated fuel prices.     India is one of the economies most exposed to oil supply disruptions emanating from the Iran war.
Going ahead, auto sales growth is expected to moderate in the second half of the fiscal year as the "favourable base effect" wanes, according to industry experts. 
"This year will be a year of two halves, much like last year. H1 and H2 will have different growth rates," Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer for marketing and sales at Maruti Suzuki, said during a media briefing. 
Yash Agrawal, an auto analyst at Nirmal Bang, agreed, but said the moderation in demand would be because of the high base rather than "any weakness in overall consumer optimism." 
He added that consumers were advancing vehicle purchases amid concerns that automakers could raise prices further if commodity costs remained elevated. 
Auto companies like Maruti, Mahindra, Tata and Hyundai have rolled out multiple price hikes this year to pass on rising costs to buyers.
Vincent K A, a senior research analyst at Geojit Investments, said that "margin pressure remains a concern" for Maruti and the trajectory of exports will be a key factor to watch in the near term.    




 (Reporting by Saikeerthi in Bengaluru and Praveen Paramasivam in Chennai; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
 ((Saikeerthi@thomsonreuters.com; (+91) 8296756080))