Passenger Vehicle Demand Remains Strong, Maruti Suzuki & Kia India Post Record May Sales

New Delhi: Passenger vehicle sales remained strong in May 2026, with several carmakers reporting healthy growth. Maruti Suzuki India and Kia India achieved their highest-ever sales for the month, showing that demand in the automobile market continues to stay firm.

Maruti Suzuki Hits Record Monthly Sales

Maruti Suzuki India reported its highest-ever monthly domestic sales of 1,93,535 units in May 2026. The company had sold 1,38,690 units in May 2025.

Senior Executive Officer, Marketing and Sales, Partho Banerjee said rising fuel prices have affected sentiment among small-car buyers. However, the company still recorded strong growth across segments.

Sales of mini cars, including Alto and S-Presso, increased to 16,275 units from 6,776 units a year ago. Compact car sales, including Baleno, Celerio, Dzire, Ignis, Swift and WagonR, rose to 81,555 units from 61,960 units.

The company’s total passenger car sales, excluding utility vehicles, stood at 1,90,337 units in May, compared with 1,35,962 units in the same month last year.

Fuel Prices Push EV and CNG Demand

Banerjee said higher fuel prices increase the overall cost of owning a vehicle and could affect the automobile industry if the trend continues.

He added that bookings for the all-electric e-VITARA have doubled to more than 4,000 units after petrol prices increased. Bookings for CNG vehicles have also risen by 1.4 times.

Tata Motors, Mahindra and Hyundai Register Growth

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles sold 59,090 units in the domestic market in May, up from 41,557 units a year earlier, a growth of 42 percent.

Mahindra & Mahindra sold 58,021 units, recording an 11 percent increase over the year-ago period.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd reported domestic sales of 47,837 units, up 9.1 percent from May 2025.

Managing Director and CEO Tarun Garg said the company maintained its strong sales momentum during the month.

Kia Posts Best-Ever May Performance

Kia India reported wholesale sales of 27,586 units in May, up 23.6 percent from 22,315 units in the same month last year.

The company described it as its highest-ever sales performance for May since entering the Indian market.

Senior Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, Atul Sood said the result reflects strong customer demand across different vehicle segments.

Toyota and JSW MG Motor Also Perform Well

Toyota Kirloskar Motor sold 30,574 units in the domestic market in May, compared with 29,280 units a year ago, registering a 4 percent increase.

JSW MG Motor India reported sales of 6,048 units during the month. The company did not provide year-on-year comparison figures.