Passenger vehicle (PV) and two-wheeler sales (2W) grew for the fourth straight month in November as automakers added dealer inventory on hopes that demand will remain robust beyond the festive season.
Wholesales or factory dispatches of cars, sport-utility vehicles and multi-purpose vehicles grew 4.65% from a year earlier to 285,367 units, according to the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) on Friday.
The total production of Passenger Vehicles, Three Wheelers(3W), Two Wheelers and Quadricycle in the month of November 2020 was 22,96,701 units, as against 2,258,290 units in November 2019 marking a growth of 1.70%.
Growth was spurred by a steady recovery in demand for compact cars and sport-utility vehicles in rural, semi-urban and some urban markets, the data showed.
Commenting on the November 2020 data, Mr Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM in a statement said, “We have witnessed an increase in wholesale numbers in the month of November, where Passenger Vehicles grew by 4.65% and Two-Wheelers by 13.43% over the corresponding month of last year, primarily on account of the festive season."
"While the festive season brought back some fervor in specific segments, the overall economic scenario would determine the industry’s performance going forward,” he adds.
Utility vehicle sales grew by 17.2% from a year earlier in November to 103,525 units driven largely by companies such as Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Hyundai Motor India Ltd and Kia Motors India Ltd.
However, passenger car sales fell 2.77% from a year earlier to 149,949 units in November.
This was largely due to a 2.4% drop in sales of market leader Maruti Suzuki Ltd, though sales at second-ranked Hyundai Motor India Ltd rose by 9.4%.
Automakers benefited from a low base as they faced demand contraction in November last year due to an economic slowdown and an increase in vehicle prices to comply with new emission and safety norms.
Production of Passenger Vehicles from April to November of Three Wheelers, Two Wheelers and Quadricycle in April-November 2020 was 13,137,233 units as against 18,356,431 units in April-November 2019 showing a decline of (-) 28.43 %.
According to data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), retail sales of passenger vehicles increased by 4.17% from a year earlier in November to 291,001 units.
Tractors and PVs kept the festive spirits going by registering a growth of 48.7% and 13.6%.
While Vehicle Registrations in November continued to grow by 29.32% on month on month (MoM) basis, it fell by 19.29% on YoY basis. • For the month of November, Tractors and PV grew by 8.47% and 4.17% year on year (YoY). 2W, CV and 3W continued to fall by -21.4%, -31.22% and -64.98% YoY respectively.
Outlook by FADA
With festive season now over, heavy rains in certain parts of the country leading to crop damage and pent-up demand almost negligible, demand revival now solely depends on exciting year end schemes. If the supply chain issues in PV segment is controlled, we may see continued growth in December.
