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Maruti Leads, Tata Takes Second in India's October Car Sales
Maruti Suzuki was India's best-selling carmaker in October 2026, and Tata Motors finished second ahead of Mahindra and Hyundai. The month covered the Navratri and Dussehra buying season. Several of the brands in the ranking, including Tata, Mahindra, Hyundai, and Kia, also sell cars in Nepal.
India tracks car sales in two ways. Registrations on the government's VAHAN portal count cars handed over to customers, while company figures count dispatches from factories to dealers. Tata finished second on both measures this month.
Registrations by Brand
VAHAN data recorded up to November 1 shows 4,98,208 registrations across 14 carmakers. Maruti Suzuki alone recorded more registrations than the next three brands combined, and the top four together made up 81.6% of the total.
Rank | Carmaker | October 2026 Registrations |
|---|---|---|
1 | Maruti Suzuki | 2,11,444 |
2 | Tata Motors | 73,002 |
3 | Mahindra | 64,248 |
4 | Hyundai | 57,883 |
5 | Kia | 30,657 |
6 | Toyota | 28,323 |
7 | Škoda and Volkswagen | 9,083 |
8 | MG | 7,014 |
9 | Honda | 5,429 |
10 | Renault | 3,491 |
11 | Nissan | 3,257 |
12 | VinFast | 2,565 |
13 | Stellantis | 1,077 |
14 | BYD | 735 |
What the Carmakers Reported
Maruti Suzuki dispatched 2,12,384 passenger vehicles in India, up 20.5% year on year. Adding light commercial vehicles, supplies to other carmakers, and exports, its total reached 2,76,120 units, the highest monthly figure in the company's history.
The contest for second place was much closer on dispatches. Tata sent 73,894 passenger vehicles to Indian dealers, up 21%, while Mahindra posted a record 73,338 SUVs, up 2%. That left a gap of 556 units. Tata's electric cars grew faster than the rest of its range, with EV sales including exports rising 75% to 16,244 units.
Hyundai had its best domestic month at 62,799 units, up 16.7%, with the Venue alone accounting for 13,017. Kia also set a record at 33,462 units, led by the Seltos at over 13,000, and CNG versions of the Carens and Carens Clavis made up close to 10% of its sales. Toyota went the other way, with domestic dispatches down 26.7% to 29,521 units, which placed it behind Kia.
Electric cars made up 7.2% of October registrations at 35,777 units, with Tata, Mahindra, and MG accounting for most of them.
Year-on-year comparisons for this festive season need some care. Last year, India's GST rate cut took effect on September 22, 2025, the day Navratri began, which pulled a rush of buying into that window. Against that high base, the dealers' federation FADA reported passenger vehicle registrations during this year's Navratri, from October 11 to 20, were down 22%. This year, Dhanteras and Diwali fall on November 6 and 8.
