Passenger vehicle sales grew 13.6% in December 2020; signals a rebound in the auto sector

The industry body SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) data revealed a sales growth of 13.59% in Passenger vehicles (PV) during December 2020, with 252,998 units compared to 222,728 units in December 2019. This is a significant improvement in PV sales after growth of 4.65% was recorded in November.

Two-wheeler sales also grew 7.42% to 1,127,917 units in December 2020 compared to 1,050,038 units in the previous year. Three-wheeler sales stood at 22,126 units in the said month compared to 53,795 units in December 2019, marking 58.87% decline.

PVs and two-wheeler segments have shown some recovery in Q3, while commercial vehicles and three-wheeler segments are still in the negative zone.

While commenting on the progress, Mr. Kenichi Ayukawa, President, SIAM stated, "Initiatives such as the announcement of performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, keeping interest rates very low, targeted spending in rural areas and continued focus on building road infrastructure, will help in our recovery process." He further said that the market situation is dynamic and uncertain, and that the industry is facing a shortage of semiconductors, steel and shipping containers. "Industry is working hard to get back to better volumes and better business health," he added.

The coronavirus-hit auto sector has seen 25.25% decline in sales in April-December this fiscal. In the April-December period, the total production of all vehicles stood at 15,503,174 against 20,740,093 units in the previous year.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.