Auto sales in July 2025: Exports save the day as local car sales enter slow lane

Car sales in India entered the slow lane in July 2025, only to be propped up by higher exports. The demand at dealerships is muted still.

WagonR hatchbacks are seen parked at the manufacturing plant of Maruti Suzuki in Manesar. India’s largest carmaker continues to restrict new car dispatches to dealerships amid a slump in demand and a rise in unsold inventory.(REUTERS)

Indian carmakers shipped 3,40,772 units to dealerships last month as against 3,41,510 units in the year-ago period—registering a decline of 0.2%, according to wholesale data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers on Thursday. Exports rose 8.7% year-on-year to 67,292 units during the same time.

That compares with 3,98,071 cars produced last month. Essentially, at 4,08,064 units, local car sales and exports outstripped monthly production.

“All vehicle segments posted stable performance in July 2025, though overall sentiments in the passenger vehicles segment has remained subdued so far,” SIAM’s Director General Rajesh Menon said in a statement.

To be sure, SIAM’s auto sales data isn’t an indicator of demand on the ground but of how much inventory they stock at dealerships. In reality, the decline is steeper.

Retail car sales—calculated as the number of vehicle registrations on the government’s VAHAN portal—fell 0.81% year-on-year to 2,97,722 units in July 2025, according to data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations.

That’s a yawning gap of 43,050 units between demand and supply.

“The Aashaada period and auspicious delivery days, combined with targeted schemes, new-model introductions and aggressive rural marketing, powered hinterland sales that picked up decisively towards month-end,” FADA President CS Vigneshwar said in a 7 August statement. “Urban demand, however, remained muted due to low enquiry and restrained customer sentiment.”

“With inventory levels steady at around 55 days, calibrated discounting, streamlined finance facilitation and intensified urban outreach will be crucial for festive-season growth.”

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