Passenger vehicle sales decline most in 18 yrs

NEW DELHI: Sales of automobiles and SUVs crashed essentially the most in a month in 18 years as the slowdown in the financial system and components reminiscent of activity losses and tight liquidity stored patrons out of the marketplace. This is the seventh immediately month of decline for passenger cars.

According to data released through industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), a complete of 2.39 lakh passenger cars (automobiles, U.s.SUVs and vehicles) had been bought in May 2019, down 21% from three lakh units in the similar month in the earlier yr. In April, passenger vehicle gross sales had been down 17%.


The passenger vehicle industry is saddled with heavy inventory, in spite of providing deep reductions and freebies. The industry is now petitioning the government for a reduce in GST charge. “Buyers want affordability. The state of affairs may be very severe,” Vishnu Mathur, director-general of Siam, told TOI.

The numbers talk for themselves. Despite addition of new models reminiscent of Hyundai’s hatchback Santro, Maruti’s tallboy WagonR, Tata’s Harrier off-roader, and Mahindra’s Marazzo and XUV 300 SUVs, patrons are still no longer warming as much as new launches.



Another being worried issue for car avid gamers is the transition to the stricter BS6 emission norms from April subsequent yr. The transfer will result in a hike in vehicle prices, while diesel — which is widespread in SUVs and luxury cars — will see a vital upward worth revision.

“We have never seen the sort of extended spell of negatives. It is tough. Markets can de-grow infrequently, however this used to be unexpected. We didn’t prepare for this,” mentioned Vikas Jain, the head of gross sales at Hyundai India.


Slowdown in each urban and rural markets is some other alarming state of affairs for the industry. Buyers in towns reminiscent of Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Chennai do not purchase with the similar pace as previous due to components reminiscent of growing popularity of shared mobility (Olas and Ubers), rising congestion on road, and improving public infrastructure. The distress in rural section with stretched farm incomes has most effective compounded the issues.


Companies do not see recent investments and growth until the placement improves. “Customers have been cautiously spending, which has ended in sluggishness. Added components like liquidity tightening, prime insurance coverage prices, increase in gas prices have additionally weakened retail gross sales,” N Raja, deputy MD at Toyota Kirloskar Motor, mentioned.


Maruti chairman R C Bhargava has additionally mentioned demand will continue to remain unsure via maximum portions of this fiscal. The company has refused to provide a confirmed forecast for this yr, saying its growth can range between 4% and eight%. Siam’s Mathur mentioned the government needs to convey down GST charge for the car industry from 28% to 18%. Rajesh Goel, gross sales and advertising director at Honda Cars India, mentioned the heartbeat continues to be lacking despite the fact that election-related purchasing anxiety is over.


Passenger vehicle sales decline most in 18 yrs Passenger vehicle sales decline most in 18 yrs Reviewed by Kailash on June 13, 2019 Rating: 5
Powered by Blogger.