Passenger Vehicle Sales Dip In November, See Fourth Monthly Decline Since July

Domestic passenger vehicle sales declined in November, the fourth monthly decline since July, as spike in interest rates and high fuel prices crimped consumer demand.

According to the latest data released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), passenger vehicle (PV) sales in November stood at 2,66,000 units as against 2,75,440 units in the year-ago month, down 3.43 percent.

PV sales had risen 1.55 percent in October, snapping three months of consecutive decline. In July, August and September PV sales have declined by 2.71 percent, 2.46 percent and 5.61 percent, respectively.

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"We have been witnessing flat growth in PV sales for last couple of months due to factors like high interest rates and rising fuel prices. However, fuel prices have started to come down and we expect to see its positive impact going ahead," SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur told reporters here.

In November, particularly, consumer sentiments remained low due to all these factors leading to a muted sales growth during the month, he added.

Mathur, however, said that overall sales across various segments during the month remained robust.

Vehicle sales across categories registered a rise of 5.03 percent to 20,38,015 units from 19,40,462 units in November 2017.

"Even during the April-November period of this fiscal, PVs have grown by 5 percent, commercial vehicles by over 31 percent, three-wheelers by over 21 percent and two-wheelers by over 10 percent. So the overall sales growth during the period has been around 11 percent," Mathur said.

He, however, admitted that it would be difficult to meet growth of 7-8 percent (earlier forecast) in the PV segment with just three months remaining in the current fiscal.

During the month, market leader Maruti Suzuki India posted a marginal decline in PV sales at 1,43,890 units. Rival Hyundai Motor India also reported marginal decline at 43,709 units.

Homegrown utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra posted 1.26 percent increase in its PV sales at 16,191 units in November. Tata Motors saw sales dip 3.26 percent at 18,226 units during the month.

Car sales declined marginally to 1,79,783 units last month as against 1,81,435 units in the same month last year.

Siam said total two-wheeler sales in November were up 7.15 percent to 16,45,791 units as against 15,36,015 units in the year-ago month.

The growth was mainly on the back of good motorcycle sales, which increased 9.36 percent last month to 10,49,659 units compared to 9,59,860 units in November 2017.

"Three consecutive years of good monsoon have led to a strong demand coming from rural markets for motorcycles which is driving the sales growth to a large extent," Siam Deputy Director General Sugato Sen said.

During the month, market leader Hero MotoCorp saw its bike sales grow by 4.98 percent to 5,36,193 units. Rival Bajaj Auto also witnessed a 44.6 percent jump at 2,05,259 units, while Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) saw motorcycle sales dip 14.97 percent at 1,27,896 units in November.

Scooter sales in November were at 5,21,542 units as against 5,06,267 units in the same month last year. Market leader HMSI's scooter sales were at 2,66,350 units in November, down 5.45 percent.

Chennai-based TVS Motor Co posted 38.76 percent jump in its scooter sales at 1,05,576 units, while Hero MotoCorp witnessed a decline of 16.62 percent at 64,852 units in November this year. Sales of commercial vehicles jumped 5.71 percent to 72,812 units in November as against 68,876 units in the year-ago month, Siam said.