Volumes stood at 37,329 units in January 2026, compared to the 25,990 units exported in January 2025, reflecting a 43.6 per cent surge. The increase comes at a time when production in the segment fell to 1,48,623 units from 1,57,300 units a year earlier, reflecting a decline of 5.5 per cent. Domestic sales also fell by 5.1 per cent to 1,20,636 units, down from 1,27,065 units in the same month last year.
Maruti Suzuki leads exports; Hyundai bucks domestic trend
Among the key players, Maruti Suzuki remained the leading exporter in the Indian passenger cars segment, shipping 23,149 units overseas, up from 12,747 units in January 2025. The company’s production numbers stood at 1,08,944 units, lower than 1,19,400 units in the year-ago period, while domestic sales fell to 87,006 units from 97,256 units.
Hyundai also saw exports surging to 12,550 units in January 2026 compared to 10,214 units a year earlier. It remains among the few OEMs to register positive domestic sales growth, with volumes reaching 22,188 units from 16,917 units, even as overall segment figures slumped.
Honda shipped 439 units during the month, down from 863 units in the same month last year, while Volkswagen recorded exports of 377 units against 1,192 units. Renault’s numbers fell to 228 units from 339 units shipped in January 2025.
Also Read : India’s SUV boom continues in January 2026; Compact cars lose momentum
Exports offset domestic decline
Cumulative exports within the April 2025 to January 2026 period grew to 3,76,696 units from 3,38,840 units in the same period of the previous fiscal year. Production during this period rose to 14,87,446 units from 14,20,959 units, while domestic sales edged up to 11,23,748 units from 11,03,580 units. This highlights that the dip in January numbers and local volumes does not yet reflect a broader decline for the year to date.
The SIAM data for January 2026 points to a broader rebalancing within the passenger cars segment, where weaker sales in the domestic market were offset by stronger export volumes. Even as total production dropped and fewer units were sent to local dealers, OEMs have maintained overall volumes by shipping more cars overseas.
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First Published Date: 13 Feb 2026, 18:13 pm IST
