Mumbai: The performance of the Auto Industry was ‘relatively flat’ during Q1 of 2025-26, though retail registration for passenger vehicles, two-wheelers and three-wheelers were marginally higher that the previous Q1, according to Shailesh Chandra, President, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
“Overall sentiments across categories have remained subdued so far, even as the industry continues to navigate supply side challenges,” he said here recently, adding “With the upcoming festival season coupled with the benefits of RBI repo rate cuts, we expect consumer sentiments to Improve.”
Replying to questions, he said that the used cars segment is growing faster than the new cars segment.
“Today is witnessing a demand-driven market and the economy is also driving growth. We are seeing growth in 2-wheeler exports, besides exports growing in all categories and especially in GGC countries,” he said, adding “We are expecting double-digit growth.”
Rajesh Menon, Director-General, SIAM, highlighted figures for the auto industry’s performance during Q1 20025-26.
Passenger vehicles sales again crossed the one million mark in Q1 2025-26 for the second time in Q1 in last 2 years, while the share of Utility Vehicles in this segment has grown to 66%.
Passenger vehicles saw their highest exports in this period with 2.04 lakh units registering a growth of 13.2% over Q1 2024-25. This segment’s export growth was driven by stable demand across most markets, strong performance in the Middle East and Latin America, besides revival in neighbouring markets like Sri Lanka and Nepal.
The two-wheeler segment posted sales of 4.67 million units in Q1 2025-26, resulting in a ‘degrowth’ of (-) 6.2% — compared to the same period last year – due to some inventory correction in the Industry.
However, exports in this segment registered 1.14 million units with 23.25% growth over Q! of last year and this growth was driven by revival in neighbouring markets and continued growth momentum across key export markets.
Three-wheelers segment posted its highest ever Q1 sales of 1.65 lakh units in 2025-26 with a marginal growth of 0.1%, especially driven by the passenger carrier segment.
Commercial vehicles segment posted a marginal degrowth of (-) 0.6% compared to Q1 last year with sales of 2.23 lakh units. However, exports posted a good growth of 23.4% in Q1 2025-26 with 0.2 lakh units – compared to Q1 last year.
The growth outlook for Q2 2025-26 sees the overall auto industry remaining cautiously optimistic, where several positive macroeconomic and seasonal indicators could support a gradual recovery.
While the upcoming festival season serves as a demand driver, an above normal monsoon is likely to aid rural income recovery – especially important for two-wheelers and entry level vehicles that rely heavily on rural demand.
