Festive demand lifts domestic passenger vehicle sales by nearly 5% in November

India's passenger vehicle sales posted a 4.6% rise in November as the festive season saw a pick up in demand, industry body SIAM said on Friday as it corrected its earlier projection of a sharp 13 per cent growth.

As many as 2,64,898 passenger vehicles were sold in November as against 2,53,139 units in the same month last year, SIAM said in revised numbers.

SIAM, which is currently headed by Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) MD and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa, earlier in the day released auto sales numbers for November that added more than 20,000 vehicle sales to Maruti's actual despatches, overturning a 2.4 per cent decline into a 12.3 per cent growth.

MSI controls half of the passenger vehicle market share in the country.

According to the latest data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), two-wheeler sales rose 13.43 per cent to 16,00,379 units, compared with 14,10,939 units in the same month last year.

Motorcycle sales were at 10,26,705 units as against 8,93,538 units in November 2019, up 14.9 per cent. Scooter sales were also up by 9.29 per cent at 5,02,561 units, from 4,59,851 units in the same month last year.

Three-wheeler sales, however, declined by 57.64 per cent to 23,626 units last month as against 55,778 units in November 2019.

Total sales of passenger vehicles, two-wheelers, three-wheelers and the quadricycles during last month stood at 18,88,903 units, up 9.83 per cent from 17,19,874 units in November 2019.

"We have witnessed an increase in wholesale numbers in the month of November, where passenger vehicles grew by 4.65 per cent and two-wheelers by 13.43 per cent over the corresponding month of last year, primarily on account of the festive season," SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon said.

The retail sales of two-wheelers lag behind the wholesale sales numbers but would even out over a period, as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) engage with their dealers, he added.

"While the festive season brought back some fervour in specific segments, the overall economic scenario would determine the industry's performance going forward," Menon noted.

The total production of passenger vehicles, three-wheelers, two-wheelers and quadricycles last month stood at 22,96,701 units, as against 2,258,290 units in November 2019, marking a growth of 1.7 per cent.

Last month, the country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India witnessed 2.41 per cent decline in its despatches to dealers at 1,35,775 units. Hyundai Motor India on the other hand saw 9.42 per cent increase in wholesales at 48,800 units.

Kia Motors despatches increased by 50.1 per cent to 21,022 units in November, while Mahindra & Mahindra saw 24.46 per cent rise in wholesales at 21,022 units last month.

In the two-wheeler segment, Hero MotoCorp wholesales increased by 13.83 per cent to 5,75,957 units, while Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India witnessed 10.54 per cent rise in despatches to dealers last month.

Similarly, TVS Motor Company witnessed an increase of 29.58 per cent in its wholesales at 2,47,789 units in November, as compared with the year-ago period.