West Asia conflict fails to slow passenger vehicle sales; up 25% in May

Domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales in India grew 25.4 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to 440,000 units in May, demonstrating that demand continued to remain unimpacted amid the ongoing West Asia conflict. 

Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL), India's largest carmaker, saw its domestic sales grow 40 per cent Y-o-Y to 190,337 units. Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer, marketing and sales, Maruti Suzuki India, attributed record sales to improved vehicle production, strong demand across segments and a wider market reach.

 

During a video press conference, Banerjee said the commissioning of the Kharkhoda plant had helped address supply constraints that affected the company in the January-March quarter. "We have always been saying that we were short of vehicles in the quarter four of the last financial year," Banerjee said.

   

Maruti's sales initiatives, expansion into rural markets and growing presence in the mid-SUV segment were also contributing to growth, he added.

 

Demand for electric vehicles and CNG models has strengthened sharply in recent weeks, with the West Asia conflict pushing up global crude oil prices, according to Banerjee. The company has received more than 4,000 bookings for the electric car e-Vitara in May, nearly double the bookings received for the car in April. Banerjee said that the capacity constraints on e-Vitara would continue until its production is expanded around August-September.

 

Demand for CNG vehicles has also accelerated after the West Asia conflict, with daily bookings rising by around 40 per cent. The car maker is working to increase CNG kit production to meet demand, he said.

 

Despite the strong sales momentum, Banerjee cautioned that rising fuel prices and geopolitical tensions in West Asia could create challenges for the industry. "Obviously, if there are so many headwinds... there will be an impact in the sales across all the segments," he said. He noted that higher fuel costs tend to affect entry-level car buyers more than customers in premium segments, although the shift towards CNG vehicles could help offset some of the impact.

 

MSIL recently raised vehicle prices after absorbing cost pressures for several months. Banerjee said the company had refrained from increasing prices earlier, despite higher inflation and logistics costs. "We were left with no choice but to partly pass on the cost of our vehicles to the customer," he said.

 

Domestic PV sales of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles stood at 59,090 units, up 42.2 per cent Y-o-Y. The company said it is now "firmly" in the number two position in the Indian PV market as its "strong" sales momentum has continued in May.

 

Mahindra & Mahindra, the third largest player, recorded a growth of 10.7 per cent Y-o-Y at 58,021 units. This growth in May is comparatively lower than what the company was recording in the first three months of 2026.

 

Nalinikanth Gollagunta, chief executive officer (CEO), automotive division, M&M, said: “In May, we achieved SUV sales of 58,021 units, a growth of 11 per cent... The sustained demand across our portfolio continues, constrained by supply chain challenges due to manpower shortages at select suppliers.”