Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Hyundai Motor India recorded a decline in Dhanteras retail sales this year. The decline was largely driven by a high base effect from last year, when purchases were spread across two days.
However, the companies are simultaneously witnessing an increase in showroom footfalls, a trend they expect to continue until next week.
“We are expecting to deliver around 30,000 vehicles on Dhanteras this year. What is particularly encouraging is that the strong momentum is not limited to one day. From today until November 14, Labh Pancham in Gujarat, we expect to deliver around 70,000 units during the Diwali period,” Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, MSIL, told businessline over a call.
The company sold around 50,000 units last year on Dhanteras, which was spread over two days. He added that, as of Friday, MSIL had close to 2.52 lakh pending bookings and an inventory of 11 days, which he described as quite strong.
Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles said the festive season had sustained demand across markets.
“Since Ganesh Chaturthi, we have recorded retail growth of over 20 per cent compared with the same period last year, reflecting the strength of underlying demand. Dhanteras saw an outstanding response, with single-day deliveries expected to cross 12,000 vehicles,” Amit Kamat, Chief Commercial Officer, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, said.
Diwali muhurat deliveries will continue till Wednesday, and the company expects this momentum to carry into the coming days, he added.
“Dhanteras and Diwali are among the most auspicious occasions to bring home a new vehicle, and we are witnessing strong customer demand this year as well. We expect to deliver around 16,000 units, nearly 14 per cent higher than last year,” Tarun Garg, MD & CEO, HMIL, said.
Channel checks with dealers and industry watchers indicate manufacturers and dealerships are wooing festive buyers with discounts and feature upgrades. For instance, indicative benefits reach up to ₹5.5 lakh on the outgoing Volkswagen Tiguan stock and ₹3.35 lakh on select Tata Curvv EV variants, while popular models command minimal discounts.
Sai Giridhar, President of the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations, said the two-wheeler segment, in particular, was witnessing good traction, especially in rural markets and northern India, during the festive season.
Published on November 6, 2026
