India’s passenger vehicle market recorded strong growth in May 2026, with total domestic wholesales rising to 4,40,808 units. This was a healthy growth of 26.05% compared to 3,49,713 units sold in May 2025, resulting in a volume increase of 91,095 units. Maruti Suzuki comfortably retained its leadership position and grew market share by over 4% year-on-year.
Maruti Suzuki leads with 43% market share
Maruti Suzuki continued its dominance in the market with sales of 1,90,337 units in May 2026. Compared to 1,35,962 units sold in May 2025, the company registered a rise of 54,375 units, a growth of 39.99%. Maruti alone accounted for 43.18% of all passenger vehicles sold during the month.
Tata Motors emerged as the second largest carmaker with domestic sales of 59,090 units in May 2026. Sales increased 42.19% year-on-year to 41,557 units, representing one of the strongest growth rates among major manufacturers. Mahindra lagged behind with 58,021 units, registering a YoY growth of 10.66% compared to 52,431 units sold in May 2025. Scorpio, Thar and XUV7XO continued to be the major volume contributors for the brand.
Hyundai, Toyota and Kia maintained momentum
Hyundai retained the fourth position with sales of 47,837 units, up 9.07% from 43,861 units sold a year ago. Toyota reported domestic sales of 30,574 units, up 4.42% from 29,280 units in May 2025. Kia India recorded sales of 27,586 units, marking a healthy growth of 23.62% compared to 22,315 units sold last year.
Skoda reported sales of 5,760 units, down 14.54% from 6,740 units year-on-year. Volkswagen also saw a decline of 8.04% with sales falling to 2,619 units. Nissan’s sales more than doubled to 2,948 units, up 117.73% from 1,354 units sold in May 2025. Renault also performed impressively with sales rising 64.39% to 4,113 units from 2,502 units. Citroen recorded a growth of 57.66%, although from a small base, sales increased to 525 units. Jeep continued to struggle in the market and recorded sales of only 239 units, down 13.41% from the previous year.
Performance remains stable month-on-month
Compared to April 2026, total passenger vehicle sales remained largely unchanged. Total industry volumes declined marginally by 0.21% to 4,40,808 units from 4,41,721 units. Among major manufacturers, Mahindra recorded 3% MoM growth, while Honda posted a strong gain of 25.61%. Maruti, Toyota, Kia and MG also recorded marginal improvement. On the other hand, Hyundai’s sales declined by 7.83% month-on-month. Skoda, Renault, Citroën, Nissan and Volkswagen also reported lower volumes than in April.
Top 6 car manufacturers have more than 93% market share
A notable achievement from the May 2026 sales is the increasing concentration of the Indian passenger vehicle market. The top six manufacturers – Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra, Hyundai, Toyota and Kia – together sold 4,13,445 units. This means that the top six brands alone accounted for about 94% of total passenger vehicle sales during the month. In contrast, the remaining eight manufacturers collectively contributed only 27,363 units.
market share analysis
Maruti Suzuki was the biggest market share gainer in May 2026, with its share rising to 43.18% from 38.88% a year ago, an increase of 4.3 percentage points. Tata Motors also strengthened its position, with market share increasing from 11.88% to 13.40%. In contrast, Mahindra, Hyundai and Toyota lost market share despite registering growth in sales. Mahindra’s stake fell to 13.16% from 14.99%, Hyundai’s to 10.85% from 12.54%, while Toyota’s stake fell to 6.94% from 8.37%.
Among smaller brands, Renault increased its share from 0.72% to 0.93% due to strong demand for Duster. MG and Volkswagen also registered slight gains. On a MoM basis, the share of Maruti, Mahindra, Tata, Toyota and Kia increased, while Hyundai saw the biggest decline, falling from 11.75% in April to 10.85% in May.
