Automobile manufacturers had to cope up with another weak month in March as buyers postponed purchases amid uncertainty ahead of the parliamentary election and tepid economic indicators. PV sales had dropped 1.1 per cent in February also, the seventh decline in eight months.
Media reports suggest that the new financial year (2019-20 is unlikely to offer relief and sales are expected to remain in the slow lane till a post-election government takes charge. Dispatches at most companies, with the exception of a few, were either muted or fell, amid a pile of unsold stock.
However, according to FY19 data released by SIAM, the industry witnessed a growth of 6.26 per cent. producing a total 30,915,420 vehicles including passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, three wheelers, two wheelers and quadricycle in April-March 2019 as against 29,094,447 in April-March 2018.
The sale of passenger vehicles during the period grew by 2.70 per cent over the same period last year. Within the PV segment, sales of passenger cars, utility vehicle and vans grew by 2.05 per cent, 2.08 per cent and 13.10 per cent respectively.
The overall commercial vehicles segment registered a growth of 17.55 per cent in April- March 2019 as compared to the same period last year. Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicles increased by 14.66 per cent and Light Commercial Vehicles grew by 19.46 per cent.
The sale of three-wheeler increased by 10.27 per cent in April-March 2019 compared to the same period last year. Within the three wheelers, passenger carrier sales registered a growth of 10.62 per cent and goods carrier grew by 8.75 per cent.
Two-wheelers witnessed a sales growth at 4.86 per cent in April-March 2019 over April-March 2018, according to SIAM fighres. Within the two wheelers segment, scooters declined by (-) 0.27 per cent, whereas motorcycles and mopeds grew by 7.76 per cent and 2.41 per cent respectively.
In March this year, cumulative sale at the country’s top six passenger vehicle makers dropped 0.7 per cent to 2,67,000 units, from 2,69,000 a year before.
Sales at car market leader Maruti Suzuki India dipped 0.75 per cent in March to 1,47,613 units from a year before. Led by a 6.9 per cent drop in sale of passenger cars — Baleno, Swift, Dzire and Ciaz, among other models. However, helped by the new-generation Ertiga, its utility vehicle segment grew at a brisk 12.3 per cent over a year. Reflecting weak macro-economic indicators, the growth of India’s eight core sectors had slowed to 2.1 per cent in February, due to a fall in output of crude oil and refinery products.
New model launches, particularly of the XUV3OO, a compact SUV, helped Mahindra & Mahindra remain on a positive sales trajectory. The maker of the Scorpio and Bolero sold 27,646 units during March, up four per cent over a year before.
Honda Cars India was another exception, with sales at a fast pace on the back of new launches such as Amaze. The local arm of the Japanese carmaker saw deliveries to dealers increase 27 per cent over the same month last year.
Toyota Kirloskar Motor ended the year on a muted note. It sold 2,05,279 units in March, up two per cent over the past year.