Passenger vehicle sales increase 13.6% in December, says SIAM

Passenger vehicle sales jumped 13.6 per cent in December to 2.52 lakh units as compared to 2.22 lakh in the year-ago period, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said on Thursday.

Two-wheeler sales witnessed a muted growth of 7.4 per cent to 11.2 lakh units as compared to 10.5 lakh units in December 2019.

However, three-wheeler sales skidded by 58.8 per cent to 22,126 units last month as compared to 53,795 units in the same period.

On the other hand, total production of passenger vehicles in December 2020 was 19 lakh units as against 17.5 lakh in December 2019, marking a growth of 9 per cent.

SIAM President Kenichi Ayukawa said the market situation is dynamic and uncertain. The industry is facing a shortage of semiconductors, steel and shipping containers.

"If we look at the cumulative numbers of nine-month period from April to December 2020, it shows that sales of all segments are still behind by many years," he said.

There is also an impact of price increase of steel, logistics and other raw materials. "The industry is working hard to get back to better volumes and better business health while ensuring safety and well-being of people across the whole value chain," said Ayukawa.

Passenger vehicle sales totalled 17.7 lakh units in April to December 2020 as compared to 21.1 lakh units in April to December 2019, down 16 per cent.

Commercial vehicles sales dipped 37.2 per cent to 3.58 lakh units as compared to 5.7 lakh units in the same period.

Three-wheeler sales plunged by 74.2 per cent to 1.3 lakh units in April to December 2020 as compared to 5.07 lakh units year-on-year while two-wheeler sales totalled 1.07 crore units versus 1.39 crore, down 22.6 per cent.