Mumbai: Automobile sales registered double-digit growth during the month of September as manufacturers ramped up production on the back of sustained demand recovery and anticipation of high sales volume during the Diwali period.

Maruti Suzuki, which accounts for every second car sold in India, reported a 32 per cent growth in domestic sales. The company sold 152, 608 vehicles during the month as against 115,452 units sold a year ago. It also meant a 30 per cent growth over August 2020 sales.

To be sure, these are wholesale numbers representing the despatches from factories to vehicle showrooms. The retail figures, which show actual sales of vehicles to customers, could be lower. Automakers in India publish only the wholesale figures, contrary to the global practices.

Hyundai Motor India, the second-largest player in the domestic market reported a 24 per cent growth in September with sales of 50,313 units. Exports for the company however were down by 44 per cent to 9,600 units, bringing its overall sales to 59,913 units – a growth of 3.8 per cent.

Mahindra and Mahindra reported a 4 per cent growth in passenger vehicles (PV) sales to 14,857 units. Commercial vehicles (CV) sales for the company remained flat at 18,907 units at a time when CV sales are registering a double-digit decline at other automakers.

The company’s total exports for the month were down by 41 per cent to 1,569 units.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor sold 8,116 cars during September, which was 20 per cent less than the 10,203 units sold last year. However, the sales were up 46 per cent when compared to August when the company sold 5,555 cars.

Two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto reported 24 per cent growth in domestic two-wheeler sales to 219,500 units. The company also recorded its highest-ever monthly exports at 185,351 units with a growth of 16 per cent. Its CV sales however continued to decline. While exports were flat, domestic CV sales declined by 76 per cent, bringing total CV sales down by 44 per cent to 36,455 units.

With that, Bajaj’s total domestic sales during the month were up by 6 per cent to 228,731 units while exports grew 14 per cent to 212,575 units.

Maruti Suzuki ended the first half of the fiscal year 2020-21 with a sales decline of 36 per cent, selling a total of 437,646 units. Mahindra’s sales during the first two quarters halved as compared to last year to 51,475 units. Bajaj Auto ended the half-year with a decline of 38 per cent to almost 1.5 million units, including domestic sales and exports.