New Delhi: Workers across the automobile hubs in Gurgaon-Manesar, Chennai, Pune, and Sanand are putting in extra hours, even on weekends, as car manufacturers Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Tata Motors, and Mahindra work to build up their inventory.
Automakers have increased production by up to 25% to fulfill the 650,000-unit order book and meet the anticipated record-breaking festive season sales driven by strong consumer demand.
The industry expects to sell over a million cars, sedans, and sports utility vehicles during the festive season, surpassing the 934,000 units sold in 2021 and 892,000 units sold in 2022.
The festive season accounts for 30-35% of retail auto sales. In August, the industry set a record by selling 359,228 vehicles.
Maruti Suzuki is optimizing production to produce more of its best-selling models like the Fronx, Brezza, and Ertiga to capitalize on the high demand.
Hyundai Motor, its South Korean rival, has increased its annual production capacity by 60,000 units and is working to expedite deliveries of its SUV lineup, particularly the latest offering – Exter – which has already received over 76,000 bookings.
Honda Cars has started operating its plant on Saturdays to ensure timely deliveries of the newly introduced SUV Elevate.
Dussehra-Diwali Deliveries
Kia India, in addition to increasing production from October, has introduced two more variants of the newly refreshed Seltos that require fewer microchips, reducing wait times. The new version of the Seltos has received over 50,000 bookings within two months of its launch.
“So far this month, retail sales are up by 15%. Even if monthly growth settles at around 10% due to the commencement of the Shraadh period on September 29, 10% expansion in retail sales sequentially for two straight months is a great sign,” said Hardeep Singh Brar, national head of sales and marketing at Kia India. “We are increasing production by 4,000-5,000 units from October, compared to August and September,” he added.
Hyundai has been increasing production by 4,000 units per month since July to shorten the waiting period for popular models like the Creta and Venue and ensure that customers who book a vehicle now will receive delivery during Dussehra and Diwali.
“Pent-up demand may have been fulfilled, but fresh demand remains strong, which is a promising sign for the future,” said Tarun Garg, Chief Operating Officer at Hyundai Motor India.
Maruti Suzuki, the market leader, currently has a pending order book of 325,000 units. “With the semiconductor shortage easing out, we are ramping up production to reduce waiting periods for high-demand models like the Brezza, Ertiga, XL6, Fronx, and Jimny,” said Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer of Marketing and Sales at Maruti Suzuki. He also mentioned that the company is managing logistics to ensure sufficient supplies during festivals in different states.
Honda has increased production by over a fifth since August to meet the demand for the Elevate. “We used to operate on a five-day week, but now we sometimes work on Saturdays to boost production and expedite deliveries,” said Yuichi Murata, Director of Marketing and Sales at Honda Cars India.
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