Automobile Desk: The country's automobile market is once again preparing to spread new wings. According to the recent ICICI Direct report, the growth of the Indian auto industry is expected to be quite strong in the financial year 2026-27 (FY27). Two-wheelers and passenger vehicles are going to be at the center of this entire rise. It is estimated that the sales rate in both these sectors can be recorded between 8 to 10 percent. Recent sales figures are proof that customer demand is returning rapidly in the market.
The sales figures for August 2026 clearly reflect this strong foundation of the industry. Data recorded on the vehicle registration portal 'Vahan' (VAHAN) shows that about 24 lakh vehicles were registered last month. This is a direct jump of 16 percent compared to 20.7 lakh in August last year. Auto experts believe that the benefits the market has received since the implementation of GST 2.0 have played a big role in maintaining demand. Customer traffic and retail purchases at the showroom are continuously increasing.
Talking about two-wheelers, big companies like Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor have performed brilliantly in both the export and domestic markets. Bajaj Auto achieved an annual growth of 30% in the month of August, which saw a huge growth of 53% in its foreign exports. Similarly, TVS Motor also registered a growth of about 20.5% with sales of 5.9 lakh units. The demand for vehicles of the youth's favorite brand Royal Enfield (Eicher Motors) also saw an improvement of 11 percent and the company sold 1.26 lakh units.
The performance of Tata Motors in the passenger vehicle market was the most attention-grabbing. Although the company's base was slightly lower based on previous figures, this time it delivered 68,000 vehicles, a record growth of 56%. The most special thing in this was that there was a tremendous jump of 94 percent in the demand for Tata's electric vehicles (EVs). On the other hand, the country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki achieved a growth of 21% with total sales of 2.16 lakh units, while Mahindra & Mahindra grew by 50 percent and sold around 59,000 vehicles.
Even in the field of heavy and commercial vehicles, the demand which was stalled for a long time now seems to be slowly coming back on track. Tata Motors' commercial vehicle segment registered a growth of 49 per cent due to infrastructure creation in the country, government capex and scrappage policy. Ashok Leyland registered a positive growth of 38% and VECV 18%. The commercial sector is getting a new direction with the purchase of buses and increased movement of medium-heavy trucks.
However, not all parts of the auto industry are moving at the same pace. The tractor segment related to agriculture sector is looking a bit sluggish at the moment. Escorts Kubota sales saw a growth of 19% and Mahindra tractors only 5% in August. Experts say that there were record sales of tractors in the last financial year, due to which the base is quite high. Along with this, the forecast of average monsoon of 90 percent this year may also limit rural demand a bit. Nevertheless, overall strong car and bike sales are set to take the entire auto sector to new heights.
