Chip shortage continues to play spoilsport for Indian auto makers

Maruti, Hyundai, Toyota, Honda report a drop; Tata Motors, M&M buck trend

Special Correspondent

The global semiconductor shortage continued to play spoilsport for the Indian automobile industry with major manufacturers such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Toyota and Honda reporting a drop in wholesales for February. However, Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) and MG Motor recorded an increase in sales.

Market leader Maruti Suzuki’s domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales slipped 7.4% last month to 133,948 units. “The shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production of vehicles which are primarily sold in the domestic market. The company took all possible measures to minimise the impact,” it said. The company, however, registered its highest ever monthly exports of 24,021 units.

Likewise, Hyundai Motor India registered domestic sales growth of 14.6% to 44,050 units while export dipped 10.7% to 9,109 units. “As the industry continues to grapple with semiconductor shortage situation, Hyundai, along with its partners is continuously exploring alternatives to ensure customers can take delivery of their most loved Hyundai cars at the earliest,” the company said.

While Toyota Kirloskar Motor said domestic sales declined by almost 38% to 8,745 units, Honda Cars reported a 23% decline in domestic wholesales to 7,187 units.

Yuichi Murata, director, Marketing and Sales, Honda Cars India Ltd., said, “We are witnessing improvement in consumer sentiment as COVID-situation seems to be tapering off and markets are opening-up. This is positive for the industry. On supply side, chip shortage continued to impact our production and despatches in Feb’22. We hope the situation improves in future so that we can meet the market demand more effectively”.

Homegrown firm Tata Motors said domestic PV sales rose 47% to 39,981 units, while total commercial vehicle (CV) sales grew 9% to 33,894 units.