Tata And Mahindra Want To Push Hyundai Off Its 2nd Place
September shake-up and where Hyundai stands: Hyundai’s grip on second place in India’s passenger vehicle market is under real pressure. In September 2025, Hyundai slipped to fourth in wholesale rankings, behind Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra.
Over the last 12 months, Tata’s domestic wholesales surged nearly 50 per cent and Mahindra’s utility vehicle sales rose 43 per cent, while Hyundai’s domestic growth was close to flat. That divergence shows up in the order books and in showroom traffic, and it is the core reason the second spot is now in play.
Tata’s record month and the EV tailwind
Tata Motors ended September 2025 with 60,907 units, its strongest-ever monthly performance and a 47 per cent year-on-year jump. The Nexon led the line with more than 22,500 units in a single month, the highest for any Tata model.
Electric vehicles added meaningful volume and mix: EVs contributed roughly 13 to 15 per cent of Tata’s September sales, led by the Nexon EV, Tiago EV and Punch EV.
Those numbers matter because they show Tata adding both absolute volume and higher-value variants. As EV adoption grows, that 13 to 15 per cent slice can widen, giving Tata another lever to hold second place across more months in this fiscal.
Mahindra’s SUV surge and Hyundai’s portfolio gap
Mahindra’s move is built on SUVs that sell across metros and semi-urban markets. The XUV700, Scorpio-N and Thar continue to post strong numbers, helping the brand deliver 43 per cent growth in utility vehicles on a year-on-year basis. That momentum has already pushed Mahindra ahead of Hyundai in multiple months this fiscal.
Hyundai’s weakness is concentration
The Creta alone contributes 32.6 per cent of Hyundai’s domestic volume mix and 26.1 per cent of overall mix. Revenue and EBITDA dependence on Creta is even higher. When rivals crowd the midsize SUV space with fresh launches, the single-model reliance forces Hyundai to defend share rather than grow. The entry SUV Exter has been Hyundai’s bright spot, targeting buyers moving up from small cars, but one or two hits do not fix a narrow portfolio.
How 2025’s product and policy shifts tilt the field
Competitive intensity in midsize and compact SUVs has risen. Maruti Suzuki’s recent models, including the Victoris, and steady updates from Tata and Mahindra, keep pressure on Creta’s segment. The early-September GST 2.0 reset has changed on-road maths across segments.
Broadly, manufacturers with a spread of nameplates in slabs that benefited the most can convert policy gains into faster volume. Tata and Mahindra, with wider line-ups and strong SUV mixes, appear better placed to capture those gains than a Hyundai range that leans heavily on one hero model.
Hyundai’s limited mass-market EV play also hurts in a year when EVs are adding share at the lower end of the price band. The Ioniq 5 sit at premium price points and the new Creta EV is early in its cycle, leaving Hyundai light in the value EV brackets where Tata already has scale.
What Hyundai is doing and what to watch next
Hyundai has outlined a five-year plan that targets 26 launches by the end of the decade, including six EVs, and has signalled India’s first locally manufactured Hyundai EV by 2030. That roadmap can fix the portfolio gap, but timing is critical. If major Hyundai updates arrive after rivals lock in fresh demand, recovering second place becomes harder.
Near term, watch three metrics: monthly wholesales versus Tata and Mahindra, the Creta’s share of Hyundai’s domestic volume mix, and the EV contribution to Hyundai’s overall sales.
On current numbers, Tata’s 60,907 units in September 2025 and Mahindra’s 43 per cent UV growth show enough pace to keep Hyundai under pressure. Unless Hyundai reduces its dependence on the Creta and adds competitive, affordable EVs and hybrids fast, the fight for second will swing month to month, with Tata and Mahindra holding the advantage in wholesale rankings and in segments that are growing the quickest.