As the year comes to a close, the Indian automotive industry has seen a strong performance in the second half of 2022. After a dreadful 2020 and a reasonable 2021, car sales have steadily improved, thanks to rise in demand for personal vehicles as well as a number of new launches from every brand. In this article, we take a look at the best selling car brands of 2022, based on the total sales achieved till November 2022.
Car Brand | Total Sales 2022 | Total Sales 2021 |
Maruti Suzuki | 27,89,888 | 12,41,771 |
Hyundai | 5,57,844 | 4,72,721 |
Tata | 4,86,776 | 2,95,883 |
Mahindra | 3,04,319 | 1,83,971 |
Kia | 2,39,372 | 1,73,786 |
Toyota | 1,49,954 | 1,19,826 |
Honda | 87,960 | 81,180 |
Renault | 80,992 | 89,748 |
Skoda | 48,974 | 20,624 |
MG | 44,164 | 37,776 |
Maruti Suzuki
Maruti Suzuki has been ruling the Indian auto market for several years. The brand also has introduced CNG variants of Baleno and XL6 in their premium portfolio, taking their CNG variants to 11. Their name on top of the sales chart has further been bolstered by the penetration in the SUV segment with the new Brezza and Grand Vitara, along with facelifts of already popular models such as the Baleno, Ertiga and WagonR. With this, the market leader has yet again seen a stellar double in sales this year, selling an incredible 27.89 lakh units in 2022.
Hyundai
Hyundai has enjoyed tremendous success in the Indian market over the past decade. 2022 has brought even better success with over 5.5 lakh units sold translating to a 9.4% year-on-year rise. SUVs currently make up more than 50% of Hyundai annual sales volume, with its showstopper model, the Creta, reaching highest-ever annual sales of 140,895 units. This significant sales volume of Hyundai is attributed to its ability to create a portfolio which is in sync with the customers’ demands. Further, its sporty Venue and Grand i10 Nios have played a vital role in achieving this feat.
Tata
Tata maintains its position as the 3rd best-selling car brand in 2022. Their SUV duo, the Nexon and the Punch, continue to be their big guns, while the Altroz, Harrier, Safari and Tiago helped push sales further. Moreover, they have capitalised on the growing EV trend thanks to their strong foothold in the EV segment with Tigor EV, Nexon EV, and Tiago EV. All of this has converted into sales, because of which the homegrown brand has had a commendable 2022. In fact, the brand almost took over the second spot from Hyundai with an overall sales figure of almost 5 lakh units, and it did sail past Hyundai for a couple of months in 2022.
Mahindra
Mahindra is one of India’s largest manufacturers building passenger plus commercial vehicles. Their cars are well known for their reliability, utility and off-road capabilities. The ever-growing high demand for SUVs is keeping them on the higher side of the sales chart with new-gen models like the XUV700, ScorpioN and Bolero Neo, while older models like Scorpio and Bolero continue to perform well in the rural market. With all these factors, Mahindra has witnessed an upward trajectory in terms of sales figures. The brand has clocked sales of over 3 lakh units sold in 2022, seeing a huge growth over its 1.8 lakh units sold in 2021.
Kia
Kia is the youngest car brand on this list and has taken the entire Indian market by storm with its aggressive pricing, well-designed cars, and segment-first features. Registering sales of almost 2.4 lakh units in 2022, their sales have been led by their top two contributors: the Kia Seltos and the Kia Sonet. However, the Kia Carens, released early this year, ranked third in their lineup in terms of sales, which played a significant component to their 41% year-on-year rise.
Toyota
In addition to the global car market, the Japanese auto giant holds a good share of the Indian auto market. At nearly 1.5 lakh units sold in 2022, Toyota is the last brand on the list with six-digit figures in overall 2022 sales. Year-on-year sales saw an increase of 35% from 1.1 lakh units sold last year, selling 1.5 lakh units this year. The Glanza is their best-selling car this year, with a growing demand for the Urban Cruiser Hyryder as well. While the brand is known for its Fortuner and Innova, the carmaker seems to position it as a premium offerings, not meant for mass market sales. Moreover, the company expects 2023 to be their best ever year in terms of sales, with expected demand driven from their Hybrid offerings including the likes of the upcoming Innova Hycross MPV and the recently launched Hyryder.
Honda
Honda’s urban friendly range of sedans including the Honda City and Amaze, has led the carmaker to amass sales of 88,000 units this year, a year-on-year growth of almost 8%. Apart from these frontrunners, the brand has managed to stay relevant due to their new Honda City e:HEV Hybrid and their only compact SUV WR-V. As their supporting models, the Jazz and WR-V will be removed next year, their line-up desperately screams for an SUV launch in 2023, and according to several reports, they will bring in a hybrid SUV to rival the Seltos and Creta.
Renault
The French manufacturer, Renault, has been operating in India for the past 17 years and in all fairness has achieved some market success. The carmaker sold 81,000 units in 2022, which can be credited to the affordable positioning of the Triber and Kiger, both of which offer a great value-for-money proposition. The Renault Kwid continues to bring in valuable sales every month but not as much as expected for an entry-level model. The French automaker, due to their limited range of cars, saw a depletion in sales from almost 90,000 in 2021, to about 80,000 in 2022 this year.
Skoda
The Czech automotive manufacturer is a new entrant in the top 10 car brands for the year 2022. After a rough patch in sales, their recently introduced models such as the Kushaq and Slavia, which come under the India 2.0 plan, have performed admirably in the Indian market and boosted sales for the automaker. Skoda managed to keep a check on prices of these cars thanks to the 95% localisation via its MQB platform. This has enabled Skoda to sprint past MG and Volkswagen to enter the top 10 list of best-selling car brands in 2022 with sales of around 50,000 units. This resulted in a staggering 101.9% growth in sales when compared to last year. Apart from the Kushaq and Slavia, the strong performance was aided by their more premium line-up of the Kodiaq, Superb and Octavia
MG Motors
The last place in this list goes to MG Motors, which began operations in India just recently in 2019, and has quickly established its name in the country for bringing the most feature-loaded cars in their respective segments. Although having only introduced SUVs in the market so far, MG has racked up a decent sales figure of about 44,000 units in 2022, a 16% growth over 2021. Sales were mostly driven by the Astor and Hector thanks to their feature laden cabin, impressive looks and overall package. The remaining models including Gloster, Hector Plus, and ZS EV played as key supporters, collectively managing to sell almost 10,000 units or 25% of its total sales.
Summary
The article extensively covers the best-selling car brands for the current year. The brands mentioned above cover all the bases for the Indian user, with their cars offering affordable pricing, great performance, packed features, high reliability, and much more. All carmakers are working hard to understand the Indian ever-changing car market preferences and industry trends and work according to the same. With this, there remains healthy competition among all brands, enabling them to survive in the dynamic and exciting car industry of India!
