September 2025 was a bit of a mixed bag when it came to new car sales, with the month playing host to some notable festivities and major policy announcements. The period of Shraad, typically highlighted by a downturn in sales, was followed by the auspicious Navaratri, while the Indian Government implemented revised GST rates across the board for cars, which saw carmakers announce a reduction in vehicle prices starting September 22.
Maruti Suzuki
While Maruti Suzuki remained the comfortable leader in domestic vehicle sales, wholesales in the domestic market were notably lower than September last year. Domestic passenger vehicle sales stood at 1,32,820 units – down from 1,44,962 units in September 2024, with the carmaker continuing to see low demand in the entry hatchback segment and a marked drop in sales of its Utility Vehicle range.
Sales of the Alto and S-Presso stood at just 7,208 units compared to 10,363 units last year, though sales of its larger compact hatchbacks and sedans grew from 60,480 units to 66,882 units last month. Utility vehicle sales shrank from 61,549 units to 48,695 units, while sales of the Eeco van declined from 11,908 units in September 2024 to 10,035 units last month. Ciaz reported yet another month of zero sales.
Sales to other OEMs meanwhile stood at 11,750 units while exports grew from 27,728 units last year to 42,204 units in September 2025. Overall, the carmaker did report a marginal growth with 1,89,665 units dispatched compared to 1,84,727 units in the same month last year.
Tata Motors
The battle for second place looks to be intensifying in 2025 with Tata Motors laying stake to the position in September. The homegrown carmaker reported sales of 59,667 units in the domestic market – a 45 per cent growth year-on-year. Exports, meanwhile, were up almost 400 per cent from a low 250 units last year to 1,240 units.
Cumulative passenger vehicle sales stood at 60,907 units – up 47 per cent year-on-year. with EVs accounting for 9,191 units – up 96 per cent, and marking a new high for the brand. CNG vehicle sales too reached a new all-time high with 17,800 units dispatched.
Individually, the Nexon posted its best-ever sales performance in a month for the brand, with over 22,500 units sold. The company said that this was not only a best-ever performance for the Nexon brand but for any Tata passenger vehicle to date. The company also reported a doubling in bookings post the GST 2.0 price revisions, hinting at an even stronger performance in the coming months.
Mahindra
Fellow homegrown SUV maker Mahindra took third place in the month with domestic sales of 56,233 units – a 10 per cent gain over September 2025. Total passenger vehicle sales, meanwhile, stood at 58,714 units.
The company also reported an upturn in demand during the nine days of Navaratri with a 60 per cent growth in customer retail over Navaratri in 2024. The company also reported constraints in dealer shipments, citing a shortage of vehicle trailers to ship models to dealerships across the country.
Year-to-date, Mahindra reported passenger vehicle sales of 2,97,570 units – a 14 per cent growth year-on-year.
Hyundai
Hyundai ended September in fourth place behind Mahindra and Tata with domestic sales of 51,547 units. Sales were relatively flat in the domestic market compared to September 2024, when the carmaker reported 51,101 units sold. Exports however were up from 13,100 units to 18,800 units.
The Creta reported its best ever month of sales to date with 18,861 units sold, while the Venue, due to be replaced in the coming months, is also witnessing a resurgence in demand. The sub-compact SUV reported sales of 11,484 units, the highest in the last 20 months. The shift to SUVs was also evident in the demand pattern, with Hyundai reporting that SUVs accounted for over 72 per cent of vehicles sold.
Toyota
Toyota Kirloskar Motor reported domestic sales of 27,089 units in September 2025, up from 23,802 units in the same month last year. Exports stood at 4,002 units compared to 3,045 units last year. Cumulatively, Toyota reported sales of 31,091 units – a 16 per cent jump over the same period last year.
Moving to the financial year, Toyota reported sales of 1,84,959 units in the six months from April to September 2025, up from 1,62,623 units in the same period last year.
Whenever
Kia reported sales of 22,700 units in the month of September 2025 – a growth of almost 16 per cent over August though sales were down year-on-year. Sales in September 2024 stood at 23,523 units. Exports in the month meanwhile stood at 2,606 units.
Kia also reported a change in customer sentiment in the month with the GST 2.0 reform and festive season, leading to an influx of customers and growing demand for its cars.
On a year-to-date basis, Kia looks set to outdo its sales performance compared to the mast year with 2,06,582 units sold as of end-September 2025. The carmaker had sold 1,92,690 units in the same period last year.
Honda
Honda Cars India reported a downturn in passenger vehicle sales in September 2025 compared to the same month last year. Cumulative sales amounted to 8,096 units – down from 10,911 units last year. Sales in the domestic market were relatively flat – 5,303 units compared to 5,675 units last year though exports were notably down from 5,236 units to 2,793 units.
The carmaker however expressed a positive outlook for the coming months with the ongoing festive season and GST 2.0 reforms already increasing footfalls at dealerships across the country.
Skoda India
Skoda continues to report a strong sales growth in 2025 on the back of demand for its sub-compact SUV, the Kylaq. The carmaker reported a 101 per cent year-on-year growth in sales in September 2025 with 6,636 units sold. Sales in the quarter ending Setpember meanwhile stood at 17,161 units – a 110 per cent gain over the smae period last year.
The brand said that it had so far sold 53,355 units so far this calendar year. Of this the Kyaq accounted for over 34,500 units.
Nissan
Nissan reported cumulative sales of 10,500 units in the month of September – a 9.3 per cent growth over the same period last year. The primary driver behind the growth remained the brand’s performance in export markets with 8,872 units of the 10,500 units shipped off to markets outside India. Sales in the domestic market stood at 1,652 units.
