Maharashtra Tops India PV Sales in Q3 FY2026 With 12.4% Share, Western Zone Leads All Regions: SIAM

Maharashtra retained its position as India's largest state-level passenger vehicle market in the third quarter (Q3) of financial year 2025–26, accounting for 12.4 per cent of total national sales between October and December 2025, according to figures published by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Friday. The passenger vehicle segment posted its highest-ever Q3 sales of 12.76 lakh units in that period, representing year-on-year (YoY) growth of 20.6 per cent.

Maharashtra leads, Uttar Pradesh Closes the Gap

Maharashtra's share placed it comfortably ahead of Uttar Pradesh, which contributed 10.8 per cent of national passenger vehicle sales -- a gap of 1.6 percentage points between the country's first and second-ranked states. The performance of these two states reflects the concentration of buying power across both western and northern India.

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Gujarat occupied third position with an 8.2 per cent share, while Karnataka and Tamil Nadu rounded out the top five with 7.0 per cent and 6.9 per cent respectively.

Western Zone's Dominance

The presence of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan -- all western states -- among the ten leading contributors underlines the Western Zone's status as India's most active automobile market. The zone collectively recorded sales of 4.21 lakh units during the quarter, the highest figure recorded by any regional zone in the country.

Haryana, which benefits from proximity to the national capital and above-average per-capita income levels, contributed 6.6 per cent of total sales. Rajasthan followed at 5.8 per cent.

Delhi's Moderate Performance

Delhi, despite being one of India's wealthiest urban centres, recorded a comparatively modest 4.8 per cent share. Analysts have pointed to a combination of factors that temper demand in the capital: high existing vehicle ownership rates, persistent congestion concerns, and periodic government interventions designed to curb vehicular pollution in the National Capital Region.

Southern States Show Steady Growth

Madhya Pradesh and Kerala posted shares of 4.4 per cent and 4.3 per cent respectively, reflecting expanding middle-class consumption in the heartland state and the prosperous southern coastal market. Punjab contributed 4.0 per cent of national sales, while Telangana, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar each recorded shares ranging between 2.1 per cent and 3.4 per cent.

The remaining states and union territories, grouped under an "Others" category, collectively accounted for 14.0 per cent of total sales -- the single largest individual segment in SIAM's state-wise breakdown. This signals that passenger vehicle demand is broadly distributed across smaller markets rather than concentrated exclusively in the major industrial and metro states.

India's passenger vehicle sector has grown substantially over the past decade, driven by rising household incomes, wider availability of vehicle financing, improving road infrastructure, and an accelerating preference for private mobility -- a trend that gained further momentum following the Covid-19 pandemic. Utility vehicles now account for approximately two-thirds of total passenger vehicle sales, with SUVs and crossovers reshaping the composition of the market at every price point.