Domestic wholesales of passenger vehicles grew 13.6% year-on-year in December 2020 albeit on a lower base, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). The industry body added that the market situation is dynamic and uncertain and the industry is facing a shortage of semiconductors, steel and shipping containers.
As per the data, passenger vehicle sales stood at 252,998 units in December 2020, compared to 222,728 units in December 2019. While car sales were up 8.36% to 146,864 units, wholesales of utility vehicles was up nearly 20% to 94,787 units.
Two-wheeler sales were up 7.42 % to 11,27,917 units compared to 10,50,038 units in December 2019. While scooter sales were up 5.59% to 323,696 units, the sales of motorcycles stood at 6.65% to 744,237 units.
“In the month of December 2020, the auto industry witnessed higher sales of passenger vehicles by 13.59% and two-wheelers by 7.42% over a very low base of 2019. The sale of three wheelers continue to suffer a de-growth of (-) 58.87%, compared to December 2019,” Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM said.
Kenichi Ayukawa, President, SIAM, added that in Q3 FY20-21 (October-December 2020), passenger vehicle and two-wheeler segments have shown some recovery, while commercial vehicle and three-wheeler segments are still in the negative zone.
“However, Q3 numbers could include an element of deferred demand of Q1. If we look at the cumulative numbers of the 9-month period from April to December 2020, it shows that sales of all segments are still behind by many years,” Mr Ayukawa said.
In the October-December period, passenger vehicle sales increased 14.44% to 897,908, while two-wheeler sales rose 13.37% to 4,782,110 units.
However, commercial vehicle sales fell 1.12% to 193,034 units during the quarter as against 195,211 units in October-December 2019.
“The market situation is dynamic and uncertain. Industry is facing a shortage of semiconductors, steel and shipping containers. There is also an impact of price increase of steel, logistics and other raw materials. Industry is working hard to get back to better volumes and better business health while ensuring safety and well-being of people across the whole value chain,” Mr Ayukawa said.
He added that initiatives such as the announcement of PLI scheme, keeping interest rates very low, targeted spending in rural areas and continued focus on building road infrastructure, will help in the industry in its recovery process.
