As per Nikkei Asia report, India eclipsed Japan in auto sales last year, according to the latest industry data, making it the third-largest auto market for the first time.
Based on early data, India outsold Japan with 4.2 million new car sales, selling at least 4.25 million units. Between January and November 2022, 4.13 million new cars were delivered in India, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. The number is increased to over 4.25 million vehicles by include the Maruti Suzuki sales volume for December, which is the largest automaker in India.
India's sales volume is expected to rise further with the inclusion of pending fourth-quarter sales figures for commercial vehicles, along with year-end results yet to be released by Tata Motors and other automakers, according to Nikkei Asia.
With the sale of 26.27 million vehicles, China continues to dominate the global auto market in 2021. Japan was second with 4.44 million automobiles, followed by the United States with 15.4 million. The vehicle market in India has changed recently, according to Nikkei Asia. Roughly 4.4 million vehicles were sold in 2018, but volume dipped below 4 million units in 2019, due primarily to the credit crunch that hit the nonbank sector that year. Vehicle sales fell even lower than the 3-million-unit threshold in 2020 when the Covid epidemic prompted a nationwide lockdown. Sales recovered in 2021 to approach 4 million units, but the shortage of automotive chips weighed on growth. Vehicles powered by gasoline, including hybrid vehicles, accounted for most of the new autos sold in India last year, Nikkei Asia said, adding that electric vehicles hardly have a presence. Automobiles intended for the Indian market are thought to include fewer semiconductors than those offered in developed nations. Nikkei Asia claimed that the relief from the automotive chip bottleneck in 2022 served as a launchpad for recovery.