With Tailwind in Place, Car Market To Grow At 6-7% in 2026

Pune: Maruti Suzuki, India’s top carmaker, has forecast that the passenger vehicle market in the country would grow 6–7 per cent in 2026, boosted by improved affordability, stable macro conditions, and consumer demand.

Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer, marketing and sales at Maruti Suzuki, at a media briefing on Thursday, said the demand momentum of the second half of 2025 is expected to carry into the new year, aided by policy support and easing cost pressures.

“With the demand continuing aided by GST rate cut, income tax relief, reduced interest rates and normal monsoon, there is no reason why the auto industry should not grow at 6-7 per cent in 2026,” he noted.

Meanwhile, passenger vehicle wholesales in the country clocked a record 45.5 lakh units in 2025, growing by nearly 6 per cent, as per industry estimates.

This growth was led by record annual sales from market leader Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, and Skoda, beating the highest 43.05 lakh units clocked in 2024.

Mahindra and Tata took over long-time number two player Hyundai Motor to become the second and third biggest car makers by volume in 2025, with the South Korean brand pushing to fourth position.

Maruti Suzuki wholesales grew 18.44 lakh units in 2025, bettering its previous highest of 17.90 lakh units registered in 2024, Banerjee noted.

He said the total 2025 sales for the industry is estimated at 45.5 lakh units as compared to 43.05 lakh units clocked in 2024.

Shailesh Chandra, MD and CEO at Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, said it was the fifth consecutive year of record-breaking annual sales, with 5,87,218 units sold, including the highest-ever EV volumes of 81,125 units in a calendar year.

Similarly, Nalinikanth Gollagunta, CEO at M&M, Automotive Division, said, the CY 2025 ended on a positive note, with Mahindra clocking its highest-ever volumes in both SUVs and LCVs (over 3.5T) segments, a significant milestone for the company.”

Hyundai Motor reported a 6.6 per cent on-year growth in total sales at 58,702 units in December 2025.

While Kia reported 15 per cent on-year growth of 280,286 units in CY25, Toyota Kirloskar Motor’s grew 19 per cent on-year at 3,88,801 units in CY2025, its highest ever.

Skoda too reported its best-ever sales at 72,665 units, and JSW MG Motor at 70,554 units in CY2025.