Car sales in the country grew at their fastest pace in two-and-a-half years at over 18 per cent in April, on the back of improving consumer sentiments and declining fuel prices, combined with low base effect of the last year.
According to the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), domestic passenger car sales in April stood at 1.60 lakh units against 1.35 lakh units in the same month of 2014.
“We have started the new fiscal with growth in all the segments, except in three categories. For the passenger cars segment, this is the seventh straight month of growth. The medium and heavy commercial vehicles, which were on a decline for over two years, have seen nine months of consecutive growth,” SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur said.
According to him, this was fastest growth rate for car sales in 30 months; previous fastest was in October 2012 when the growth stood at 21.19 per cent to 1.70 lakh units. Also, sales of utility vehicles were up seven per cent at 43,526 units.
Rural sales, however, continue to be a concern for the industry.
Amit Kaushik, Principal Analyst at IHS Automotive, said the current scenario was a mixed one. “While the consumer sentiments overall have improved, there are still some concerns, particularly with regards to rural demand and high interest rates.”
Two-wheeler
Total two-wheeler sales during the month declined marginally by 0.16 per cent to 12.87 lakh units. While scooter sales were up by 5.38 per cent at 3.45 lakh units, motorcycle sales were down 2.77 per cent at 8.82 lakh units.
“Demand for scooter is mostly coming from the urban market and this is likely to continue to do so,” Mr. Mathur said, adding the decline in motorcycle sales was a reflection of the impact of unseasonal rains in the rural market.
Medium & heavy commercial vehicles (M&HCVs) — including trucks and buses — registered a growth at 24.94 per cent while light commercial vehicles declined by 3.82 per cent.
In April 2015, the overall automobile exports grew by 7.66 per cent. Export of passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and three-wheelers grew by 20.87 per cent, 19.87 per cent and 79.24 per cent, respectively, while two-wheelers declined by 5.27 per cent.
