Passenger vehicle sales grow 13.6% in Dec; signals rebound in auto sector

Passenger vehicles sales grew 13.59 per cent in December 2020 at 252,998 units compared to 222,728 units in December 2019, according to industry body SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers). This is a significant improvement in PV sales after growth of 4.65 per cent was recorded in November.

Two-wheeler sales also grew 7.42 per cent 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 per cent 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.

Overall, the total production of passenger vehicles, three-wheelers, two-wheelers and quadricycles in December stood at 1,907,811 units against 1,750,347 units in December 2019, recording 9 per cent growth. The total production of vehicles in November grew 1.70 per cent.

"Initiatives such as the announcement of 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," Kenichi Ayukawa, President, SIAM, said.

He said 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 per cent 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.

SIAM collates and releases industry sales data every month, considered not only authentic but also forming the backbone of many economic policy decisions in the country.

Also read: Passenger vehicle sales rise 12.7% in November amid festive fervour: SIAM