India January 2021: Honda (+113.6%), Tata (+94.2%) help lift market up 17.7%

Honda sales are up 113.6% year-on-year in January. Picture autocarindia.com

New car wholesales in India gain a splendid 15.7% year-on-year in January to 303.399 units, marking six consecutive months of year-on-year growth in stark contrast with most other global markets. Brand leader Maruti (-0.6%) posts the only year-on-year drop in the Top 10 and sees its share thaw to 45.8%, its lowest since last June. Hyundai (+23.8%) easily remains in 2nd place and outpaces the market for a 17.1% share while Tata (+94.2%) continues to surge at 8.9%. Kia (+23.3%) also beats the market but remains below Mahindra (+4.8%) for the month. Kia has now sold 200.000 vehicles in India since launching here 18 months ago, a new record for a brand launch. Honda (+113.6%) and Toyota (+91.7%) both double their sales year-on-year to rank #6 and #7 respectively, overtaking Renault (+5.2%). Nissan (+1172.4%) takes off thanks to the success of the new Magnite, overall Nissan + Datsun sales are at their highest since March 2018. Volkswagen (+85.2%) also shines but only commands 0.7% of the market.

Over in the models ranking, four of the Top 5 best-sellers register a year-on-year loss, singling a further fragmentation of the market. The Maruti Alto (-3.5%) repeats at #1 thanks to a better hold than the Maruti Swift (-14%), Baleno (-18.7%) and DZire (-32.5%), leader a year ago. The Maruti Wagon R (+12.7%) signs the only gain in the Top 5 but remains below the market growth rate. The Hyundai Creta (+78%) and Venue (+74.9%) both soar to become the brand’s best-sellers for the month, with the Hyundai Grand i10 (+23.8%) also up in the remainder of the Top 10. Among recent launches, the Kia Sonet is back up five spots on December to #13, while the Nissan Magnite is up 16 to #32 and the Toyota Urban Cruiser is also up 5 to #33. The Tata Nexon (8.225) and Mahindra Thar (3.152) both break their volume records.

Today we can also share with you an All-brands ranking for retail sales. It shows a market looking the other way with a -4.5% year-on-year drop to 281.666 units. Maruti (-8.5%) underperforms slightly but holds 49.2% of the retail market, a superior share than in the wholesales charts. Hyundai (+4.4%) progresses but the largest increases go to Kia (+45.2%), Tata (+40.1%) and MG (+22%). Further down, Skoda (+61.4%) and Rolls-Royce (+250%) impress but all other brands drop volume year-on-year.

Previous post: India Full Year 2020: Kia up to #4, Maruti Swift topples Alto in market down -17.3%

One year ago: India January 2020: Maruti DZire #1, Baleno breaks record, Kia Seltos hits 15.000 sales in market down -5.4% 

Full January 2021 Top 15 All-brands wholesales, Top 75 All-models wholesales and Top 25 All-brands retail below.