India October 2026 Auto Sales: 5 Record Breaking Numbers
Indian carmakers dispatched 5,19,060 passenger vehicles to dealerships in October 2026, setting a new passenger vehicle sales record for the month. That’s according to SIAM data released on November 13, showing a 12.4% jump over October 2025 and the first time monthly PV wholesales have crossed 5 lakh in an October.
Two wheeler sales in October 2026 climbed 16.1% to 25.78 lakh units. Three wheelers rose 25.7%. Production topped 36 lakh. India festive season car sales clearly benefited from Navratri demand, but the numbers go deeper than holiday shopping.
Who Sold What: Brand Wise Passenger Vehicle Numbers
Maruti Suzuki stayed comfortably ahead. The company dispatched 2,12,384 units in October, a 20.5% increase year on year, per company reported data compiled by Entrepreneur India. Market share held at roughly 42%, almost unchanged from October 2025, which tells you the broader market grew at a similar clip as Maruti itself.
Tata Motors climbed to second place with 73,894 units (up 20.9%), closely followed by Mahindra at 73,338 units. Mahindra’s 2.4% growth looks modest in comparison, though the company claimed its highest ever monthly SUV dispatch figure. With four new SUVs lined up before June 2027, that number has room to grow.
Hyundai posted 62,799 units, up 16.7%. The recently launched Bayon should add incremental volume in coming months.
Kia hit 33,462 units, its highest ever monthly sales for the second consecutive month. CNG models now account for close to 10% of Kia’s domestic dispatches, and EV sales were up 31% over September. That tracks with Kia’s Rs 18,800 crore investment in a second Indian plant, a bet on sustained demand.
Toyota was the only top six brand to decline. Its 29,521 units represent a 26.7% drop year on year. Some of that gap comes from an unusually strong October 2025 for Toyota. Still, when every other major brand posted double digit or near double digit growth, a 27% decline sticks out.
Scooters Were the Real Standout in Two Wheeler Sales October 2026
The headline number is passenger vehicles, but scooters deserve more attention. Sales hit 10,96,756 units in October, up 31.6% from 8.34 lakh units a year earlier. Nearly 11 lakh scooters dispatched in a single month.
Motorcycles grew 6.6% to 14.23 lakh units, a respectable figure that looks pedestrian next to the scooter surge. SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon attributed the two wheeler demand to “improved credit availability and replacement demand, across both rural and urban markets.”
The scooter growth points to something more specific: urban commuters are choosing scooters over motorcycles at an accelerating pace. Electric scooter options from TVS, Bajaj, and others are widening the buyer pool.
Even mopeds grew. Sales rose 13% to 57,936 units, and when mopeds are growing, you know rural purchasing power is flowing through markets that most analysts in Mumbai tend to overlook.
Three Wheelers and the Electrification Push
Three wheeler dispatches crossed 1 lakh for the month at 1,03,349 units, a 25.7% jump. Passenger carriers (autos and similar vehicles) accounted for 86,218 of those units (up 26.9%), while goods carriers added 15,465 (up 27.4%).
One category bucked the trend. E rickshaw sales fell 22.3% and e carts dropped 17.8%, which is surprising given that electric car registrations surged 76% in October. The dip likely reflects a maturing base after years of aggressive e rickshaw expansion across tier 2 and tier 3 cities.
Exports: Scooter Shipments Jumped 80%
Indian automakers exported 6.82 lakh vehicles in October 2026, up 26.06% year on year, per SIAM data reported by Business Today. Passenger vehicle exports hit 83,716 units (up 21.8%), and two wheeler exports climbed to 5,43,972 units (up 26.5%). Three wheeler exports were also strong at 53,039 units, up 26.7%.
The standout? Scooter exports. At 85,292 units, they jumped 80.42% from 47,274 a year earlier. No other export category came close to that growth rate.
April to October Cumulative: Where the SIAM Data October 2026 Fits
The monthly record looks better in the broader context of FY2027 so far. Between April and October 2026, domestic PV wholesales totalled 30,82,634 units, a 25.5% increase over the same period in FY2025. Two wheelers crossed 1.46 crore units (up 17.4%), and three wheelers reached 6,05,211 (up 26.2%).
Total automobile exports during this period hit 46,59,799 units, up 28% year on year. Nearly 47 lakh vehicles shipped out of India in seven months.
That 25.5% PV growth deserves a caveat. Part of it comes from a lower base in early FY2025, before the September 2025 GST rationalisation cut rates on small cars from 28% to 18%. Once the GST effect normalises over the next few months, cumulative growth will moderate. Even so, the trajectory is clearly upward.
What November Numbers Will Reveal
Diwali fell on November 8 this year, compared to October 20 in 2025. That timing split festive season purchases across two months, which means November data will complete the picture of India’s festive season car sales for 2026. SIAM’s Menon summarised it simply: “The demand outlook remains positive.”
For anyone tracking the top selling SUVs in India this year, November dispatches should show whether SUVs, which crossed 3 lakh units in October alone, can sustain that pace through the post Diwali months. That’s the number worth watching.
