Car sales up 45% on pent-up demand | Economic Times

Sales of passenger vehicles rose 45% to 264,442 units last month, albeit on a low base, driven by pent-up demand as more states eased curbs imposed to check the spread of the second wave of the pandemic. As per data available with industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), as many as 182,779 passenger vehicles were sold in the local market in the year-ago period.The sales numbers for passenger vehicles last month would be even higher at 294,627 units if the wholesale volumes of Tata Motors were included. Tata Motors has stopped reporting data on a monthly basis to SIAM. Tata Motors sold 30,185 units last month.85284652Automakers in India report wholesale dispatches from factories and not retail sales made by dealers.Sales of two-wheelers in the month under review declined 2% to 1,253,937 units compared to 1,281,354 units sold in the corresponding period of the last financial year. While sales of scooters went up 9.6% to 366,292 units; those of motorcycles dipped 5.8% to 837,096 units. Three-wheeler sales last month stood at 17,888 units, which is an increase of 40.5% from 12,728 units in July 2020. SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon said the industry is making efforts to maximise production despite the global shortage in availability of semiconductors and the sharp rise in input costs. Additionally, there are concerns regarding the impact of a possible third wave of the coronavirus pandemic."Indian automobile industry continues to face heavy headwinds in the form of global semiconductor shortage and steep rise in commodity prices. On one hand, the industry is managing such supply chain challenges while ensuring safety of its people, and on the other hand industry is also keeping a close eye on the onset of a 3rd wave in India and across the world”, he informed, adding, “Amidst such challenging and uncertain business environment, industry is trying to maximize production and sales.”However, sales for the period of April to July 2021 for the passenger vehicle segment are still lower than the level of 2016-17; for the two-wheeler segment, still lower than the level of 2010-11; and the three-wheeler segment has been pushed back by many years, he added.