Passenger vehicle wholesales touch all-time high in Nov: SIAM

The domestic automobile manufacturers, excluding Tata Motors, reported the highest-ever passenger vehicle wholesales in November, surging by 3.7% year-on-year to 3,34,130 units as against 3,22,268 units in the same period last year, according to the latest data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

The domestic three-wheeler sales during the month under review stood at 59,738 units, up 30.8% as against 45,664 units in the same period last year. The domestic two-wheeler sales in November surged 31.3% to 12,36,282 units as against 16,23,399 units in the same period last year.

“All segments of the automobile industry witnessed robust growth during the festival season which ended in the first part of November. For the month, passenger vehicle sales grew moderately and two-wheeler and three-wheeler segments posted high-double-digit growth. Commercial vehicle sales matched last year’s levels. Supported by strong economic growth, the industry is optimistic about ending the year 2023 on a high note and expects the trend to continue into 2024,” says Vinod Aggarwal, president, SIAM.

“Passenger Vehicles posted the highest ever sales in the month of November 2023 of 3.34 Lakh units, albeit with a growth rate of 3.7%, in the backdrop of a high base last November. Three Wheelers reported significant growth of 30.8%, compared to the previous year, posting sales of about 0.60 lakh units in November 2023, just below the peak of November 2017. Two-Wheelers also reported sales of about 16.23 Lakh units with high growth of 31.3%, compared to November 2022 and is also slightly below the peak to November 2018,” says Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM.

Amongst the domestic automobile manufacturers, domestic sales of Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest automobile manufacturer, stood at 1,23,932 units, declining by 1%, as against 1,25,212 units in the same period last year.

The domestic sales of Mahindra & Mahindra stood at 39,981 units, up by 32.2%, as against 30,238 units in the same period last year. Hyundai Motor’s domestic sales during the month under review stood at 49451 units as against 48,002 units in the same period last year. The domestic sales of Kia India in November stood at 22,762 units as against 24,025 units in the same period last year.  

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), had earlier said that automobile retail sales during the 42-day festive period this year jumped 19% to hit a new milestone of 37.93 lakh units as against 31.95 lakh units in the same period last year.

The 42-day festive period of 2023-24 started on 1st day of Navratri (October 15) and ended 15 days post Dhanteras (November 10). "Significant growth was observed in the two-wheeler, three-wheeler, commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles, with respective rises of 21%, 41%, 8%, and 10%," said FADA president Manish Raj Singhania earlier.

Meanwhile, over the past few weeks, several automakers such as Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Mahindra and Mahindra, Audi and BMW amongst others have announced price hikes beginning January 1, 2024.