Passenger vehicle sales fall 3.43% in November

The domestic passenger car market hasn’t shown any signs of revival in November as sales have declined yet again. Data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Monday showed sales of passenger cars—the largest segment by volumes—fell 0.91% to 179,783 units last month from 181,435 in the corresponding month last year.

Overall, the sales of passenger vehicles—including cars, utility vehicles, and vans—fell 3.43% to 266,000 in November this year.

India’s auto industry had showed some signs of revival in October as sales rose marginally after falling for four months in a row on the back of rising fuel and commodity prices and a poor monsoon.

According to SIAM, low consumer sentiments and tight liquidity drove down vehicle sales in November.

Auto experts were not expecting a recovery in November due to low demand and production shutdown during the festive season. “However, we expect recovery in the upcoming month as hefty discounts are expected before price hikes next year. Some relief in dollar price and crude oil price can be seen as some signs but reduction in crude production by OPEC can again affect crude prices,” said Gaurav Vangaal, senior analyst, automotive forecasting, light vehicles, at IHS Markit, a London-based consulting firm.

The three-wheeler and the medium-and-heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) segments, which traditionally perform well, also suffered dips. While three-wheelers fell 11.19%, M&HCVs dropped 10.97%.

However, the two-wheeler segment showed a strong growth of 7.15% on the back of 1,645,791 units sold last month as compared to 1,536,015 in the same period last year. According to auto experts, this shows that low segment buyers remain confident in their purchases as the rural demand drives a lot of two-wheelers sales.

Overall, the industry grew 5.03% with a total of 2,038,015 units sold last month. However, both passenger car exports and production took a slight hit last month. While total exports fell 0.56%, the production went down by 0.84%.