With temporary subscription options offered by leading brands in India, owning and driving a car may get significantly easier.

The subscription model completely eliminates the high upfront purchase cost of a car. It calls for low or no down payment at all. It reduces the dependence on loans, thus saving interest, and opens up the possibility of a whole lot others buying one. The temporary ownership programmes, typically offered by commercial rentals such as Zoomcar and Revv are now offered in various lucrative forms by OEMs.

Maruti Suzuki, for example, offers a subscription option on all 10 models it sells – including the Swift, the Vitara Brezza and the XL6. The company also offers CNG variants of the WagonR and the Ertiga under the subscription model. Potential subscribers can pick a car best suited for their requirements (depending on the seating capacity, comfort and performance). The company also offers AT (automatic transmission) and MT (manual transmission) variants of most of its models, which the subscribers can always warm up to. They can, depending on their aspirational needs and usage, select a car or upgrade to one at the end of the current tenure.

Under ‘Maruti Suzuki Subscribe’, a customer can choose a tenure of between 12 months (minimum tenure period) and 48 months. During this period, he or she will have to pay an all-inclusive fixed monthly fee that covers the complete maintenance of the vehicle.  Service and repairs (including the parts and consumables) are also covered. The monthly fee will also include zero depreciation insurance, 24x7 roadside assistance and registration fees. At the end of the selected tenure, subscribers can upgrade to a new vehicle or extend the tenure up to four years. They can also buy the subscribed car permanently based on its market assessment.

Maruti also offers a choice between a white plate registration and a black plate. White plate cars are registered in the name of the subscriber. The black plate cars carry the name of the corporate subscription partner. Both options offer a starting tenure of 12 months (with an option to extend to 48 months).

For either plate car, customers can choose the colour of their choice. They can choose an annual kilometre package (10,000 km, 15,000 km, 20,000 km or 25,000 km) allowed by the company. Subscribers clocking additional kilometres are charged between INR 3 and INR 5 (taxes extra) for each kilometre covered in the case of black plate cars. In the case of white plate cars, it is INR 5 plus taxes. While Maruti models are available for subscriptions starting at INR 12,868 per month for the WagonR LXi 1.0L MT and INR 33,676 per month for the S-Cross Alpha AT, there are other manufacturers who are known to offer similar packages for their brand of cars. Among these are Toyota, Hyundai and Mahindra & Mahindra.

Regardless of the brand, what the subscription model achieves is to provide a better opportunity to get hold of a car – to use one. Making it financially easy for one to possess a car, the subscription model does away with the worries of securing a loan and about the depreciation the car will incur over a period of time. Involving no down payment in most cases, the subscription model helps the user to save on interest. Apart from fuel costs, expenses like insurance, maintenance and road taxes are conveniently included in the monthly fee. With dedicated OEM verticals for subscription models, a subscriber can easily seek assistance, modify or change the plans too. (MT)     

Mumbai-based automotive major Mahindra & Mahindra has announced its wholesales for April 2025 at 84,170 vehicles, a growth of 19 percent, including exports.

The auto major sold a total of 52,330 SUVs in the domestic market, which was 28 percent higher than 41,008 SUVs sold for the same period last year. Commercial vehicle sales in the domestic market came at 22,989 units, which was 4 percent YoY. 

Veejay Nakra, President, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra, said, “Building on the strong momentum of last year's performance, we began the year on a strong note in April by achieving SUV sales of 52,330 units, a growth of 28 percent and total vehicle sales of 84,170 units, a 19 percent growth over the same month last year. These numbers indicate the strength of our portfolio and customer offerings.”

JSW MG Motor India, a leading passenger vehicles manufacturer, has announced its wholesales for April 2025.

The company reported sales of 5,829 units, which was 23 percent higher over April 2024, when it sold 4,725 vehicles.

Interestingly, the automaker's popular offering, the Windsor EV, has continued to be the top-selling electric passenger vehicle for the seventh month in a row.

JSW MG Motor India's Windsor EV has now gone home to over 20,000 customers.

Maruti Suzuki India, the country’s largest carmaker, has reported its wholesales of 179,791 units in April 2025, marking a 7 percent increase compared to 168,089 units sold in April 2024. The growth was primarily propelled by strong performance in utility vehicles and a sharp rise in export volumes.

Domestic sales, including passenger and light commercial vehicles, remained flat with 142,053 units, as compared to 140,448 units in April 2024. Within this, light commercial vehicles (LCVs) like the Super Carry saw a significant jump of 34.2 percent, with sales rising to 3,349 units from 2,496 units last year.

In the passenger vehicle segment, SUVs such as the Brezza, Ertiga, Grand Vitara and others recorded a 4.4 percent increase, selling 59,022 units compared to 56,553 in the previous year. However, sales for Eeco declined by 5.2 percent, while the mini segment (Alto, S-Presso) saw a sharp 45 percent drop, falling to 6,332 units from 11,519 units. The compact segment, which includes high-volume models like the Baleno and Swift, grew by 8.1 percent, reaching 61,591 units.

Sales to Toyota Kirloskar Motor rose sharply by 79.2 percent, from 5,481 units to 9,827 units, indicating a growing demand for cross-badged products.

The standout performer was the export segment, which surged 26 percent to 27,911 units from 22,160 units in April 2024. This strong export growth helped bolster the company’s overall numbers despite weaknesses in domestic sub-segments.

While some product lines such as the mid-size sedan Ciaz (-63 percent) continue to struggle.

Tata Motors reported total wholesales of 72,753 units for April 2025, reflecting a 6 percent year-on-year decline from 77,521 units in April 2024.

The passenger vehicle (PV) segment, including electric vehicles, accounted for 45,532 units, down 5 percent from 47,983 units in the same month last year. Within this, domestic PV sales dropped 6 percent to 45,199 units, while international business (IB) sales rose significantly to 333 units, up from 100 units. Electric vehicle sales (domestic + IB) declined 16 percent year-on-year to 5,318 units.

Commercial vehicle (CV) sales stood at 27,221 units, marking an 8 percent YoY drop from 29,538 units in April 2024. Domestic CV sales contracted 10 percent to 25,764 units, while CV exports (IB) grew 43 percent to 1,457 units. Key sub-segments like Small Commercial Vehicles (SCV) and pickups saw a steep 23 percent decline.

Despite growth in certain categories like ILMCV trucks and passenger carriers, overall sales momentum was tempered across both PV and CV segments.