Reverse Gear: August auto sales slump 23.55%

New Delhi: The sales slump continued to dent the Indian automobile industry in August as the overall sectoral off-take in the domestic market plunged 23.55 per cent.

The industry which is suffering from high GST rate and lack of adequate liquidity had recorded a slump of 18.71 per cent in July, the highest monthly sales de-growth in the last 19 years.

On Monday, data furnished by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), showed that total sales of the Indian automobile sector declined by 23.55 per cent in August to 1,821,490 units from 2,382,436 units sold during the corresponding month of the previous year.

According to data, passenger car sales plunged by 41.09 per cent to 115,957 units against 196,847 units sold in August 2018.

The utility vehicles' sale declined by 2.20 per cent to 71,478, whereas van's off-take went down by 47.36 per cent to 9,089 units against the year-ago month.

Overall, passenger vehicle sales declined by 31.57 per cent in August to 196, 524 units against 287,198 units in the year-ago corresponding month.

In the commercial vehicle segment, sales were down by 38.71 per cent to 51, 897 units.

The sale of three-wheelers declined by 6.93 per cent to 58,818 units in August.

In case of two-wheelers, which include scooters, motorcycles and mopeds, the sale edged lower by 22.24 per cent to 1,514,196 units.

However, exports across categories were higher by 2.37 per cent to 421,107 units.

Consequently, the sales decline has dented production, causing job losses. The domestic passenger car production has fallen by 28.63 per cent to 182,495 units from 255,717 units.

Similarly, the commercial vehicle production has come down by 42.05 per cent to 54,873 units.

The two-wheeler production has edged lower by 17.08 per cent to 1,858,305 units.