Sales of passenger cars in India to reach record levels in the first half of 2022

18. August 2022

According to experts, India will reach a new record high in new car sales figures in the first six months of the current year 2022. Midsize and premium vehicles, in particular, contributed to this positive development, according to auto industry executives and consultants. Despite ongoing supply bottlenecks for certain components and a pending higher inflation rate, around 1.8 million passenger cars, SUVs and minivans were sold in the first half of the year. The figure surpasses the previous record set in 2018, when 1.7 million units were sold in the comparable period. With further pre-orders of between 750,000 and 800,000 units, automakers are positive about the remaining months of 2022. Cars and their components must be certified under AIS guidelines in India.

Kia India, represented by acting CEO Tae-Jin Park, told the Economic Times of India that his company expects demand for new cars to remain high in the coming months. He reasoned that many customers avoided major purchases during the pandemic but are now in a buying mood, Park said. Pre-orders at competitor Maruti Suzuki also total more than 300,000 vehicles. Sales of mid-range vehicles are on the upswing, while lower-priced cars are being bought more cautiously, according to a senior executive at a leading automaker who wished to remain anonymous. This statement is also consistent with figures from consulting firm JATO Dynamics, which found longer wait times for midsize vehicles and SUVs. In simplified terms, these range from 12 to 40 weeks for models such as the Tata Nexon, Mahindra Thar, Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and the Hyundai Creta. According to Ravi Bhatia, president of JATO Dynamics, the current vehicle inventory at dealers is about 146,000 units, not the usual 280,000 to 290,000 units. The Automobile Dealers Association is also noting higher demand. According to its president, Vinkesh Gulati, the waiting time for passenger cars currently averages three months. According to Gulati, numerous pre-orders and low cancellation figures point to perhaps the best year ever in terms of passenger car sales.

MPR International GmbH – India Certification will be pleased to assist you with AIS certification and is also available to answer any questions you may have.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for further details and consultation. You can contact us via e-mail, or call us (UK: +44 2071931135, Rest of Europe: +49 69 2713769261, US: +1 773 654-2673).

If you have any questions you can also use our chat-window in the bottom right. (Please check your browser settings if you can’t see the window)

You can also check out our free AIS-Brochure, which can be downloaded right here as a PDF file.