Car sales fell 8% in November, hit by an uncertain economic climate and high interest rates. And, the going looks even tougher, according to car industry executives and analysts.
According to numbers released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), car sales stood at 1.58 lakh units against 1.72 lakh units in the same month last year. Nine of the 19 carmakers reported a decline in volumes and these included heavyweights like Hyundai, Tata Motors, Toyota, Volkswagen, Ford and General Motors.
This is the third time in four months that car sales have slipped, and the industry remains nervous on the future.
A number of cars, including Maruti Suzuki’s Alto 800, Chevrolet SAIL U-VA and refreshes and variants from Ford, Volkswagen and Toyota, had hit the road just ahead of the Diwali season, and carmakers were offering 5-10% discounts on most models.
The overall passenger vehicle, which includes utility vehicles, however, grew 3.86% in November, thanks to the continuing craze for utility vehicles.
For the April-November period, the cumulative passenger vehicle sales grew 9.62% to 17.52 lakh units, led by 61% growth in the utility vehicles space, which registered sales of 3.57 lakh units. Passenger car sales grew just 1% to 12.40 lakh units during the period.
While the passenger car sales dropped, record numbers for Hero, Honda and others helped the two-wheeler market into a flattish 1.23% growth in November at 1.175 million units. Commercial vehicle segment declined 7.3% YoY in November, led by over 33% decline in medium and heavy-duty trucks.
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