India's Auto Sales Surge: July Sees Over 24.3 Lakh Units Sold, Two-Wheelers Up by 12.4%

The total production of passenger vehicles, three-wheelers, two-wheelers and quadricycle reached 24,37,138 units in July, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data showed on Wednesday. Passenger vehicles sales were 3,41,510, three-wheeler sales were 59,073 units and two-wheeler sales reached 14,41,694 units. Two-wheeler segment posted a decent growth of 12.5 per cent in July compared to the same month last year.

“The above average rainfall coupled with upcoming festive season is likely to again propel growth in the short term. In addition, enabling budget announcements which emphasizes on overall economic growth with fiscal support for infrastructure and rural sector should augur well for the auto sector in the medium term,” said Vinod Aggarwal, President, SIAM.

In July 2024, passenger vehicle segment de-grew compared to July 2023, posting sales of about 3.42 lakh units.

“Three Wheelers posted a growth of 5.1 per cent compared to July last year, with sales of 0.59 Lakh units in July 2024, which is close to the peak of 2018-19,” said Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM.

Another industry report last week said that India is projected to surpass China this year to become the world's largest two-wheeler (2W) market, driven by robust economic growth, consumer preference for 2Ws for short-distance commutes, and increasing 2W demand in the shared mobility space.

The electric E2W market is also growing at a rapid clip, with 2024 sales penetration expected to be 1.5 times that of four-wheeler passenger EVs, according to Counterpoint Research. The 2W market is heading towards maturity, but the adoption of electrification is expected to rise significantly, particularly after 2025.

Among the top 10, three E2W brands are from India -- Ola Electric, TVS Motor and Ather Energy -- reflecting India's emerging presence in the E2W market. Ola and Ather are also greenfield “EV-first” 2W companies challenging the incumbents such as TVS, Hero and Bajaj, said the report.