Passenger car sales are off to a strong start in the new year

Passenger car sales got off to a strong start in the new year, with carmakers across the board reporting healthy demand growth in January.Sales at domestic automakers Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose 46% and 25% respectively compared to the same period last year.

Nalinikanth Gollagunta, CEO, Automotive Division, M&M, said, “Building on the strong momentum of last year’s performance, we started the year strongly in January with SUV sales of 63,510 units, a growth of 25%. On January 14, we opened bookings for the XUV7XO and 20,500 Crore – a record-breaking milestone in just 4 hours.”

Korean rival Hyundai Motor India saw sales volume rise 9.5% to 59,107 units last month. This is the highest monthly turnover ever recorded by the company and comes at a time when Indian management is taking the helm of the Indian subsidiary for the first time. MD & CEO Tarun Garg took up the new assignment on January 1, 2026.At Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), sales rose 17% to 30,630 units in January. Sabari Manohar, Executive Vice President, Sales-Service-Used Car Business, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, affirmed: “The year 2026 has started on a positive and encouraging note, with continued momentum from our product portfolio.”

Demand also remained robust in the two-wheeler segment. Chennai-based TVS Motor Company saw sales grow 30% to 383,262 units in the month under review. Mid-size motorcycle maker Royal Enfield also saw volumes increase by 16% to 93,781 units. B Govindarajan, Managing Director of Eicher Motors and Chief Executive Officer of Royal Enfield, said: “The new year has started on a positive note for Royal Enfield, continuing the strong momentum of the previous quarter and marking four consecutive months of healthy double-digit growth.”

In terms of commercial vehicle sales, Tata Motors saw sales increase by 29.15 to 38,844 units. Sales of Eicher brand trucks and buses in the local market rose 23.6% to 9,729 units in January. Meanwhile, in the agricultural machinery sector, Mahindra sold 38,484 tractors in January 2026, a robust growth of 46% over last year. Veejay Nakra, President, Farm Equipment Business, Mahindra & Mahindra said, “High reservoir levels have supported record growth in Rabi sowing. Expectations of government support and higher rural development allocations in today’s Budget should positively impact agriculture and farm mechanization in the coming months.”