Passenger car sales fall for sixth straight month

Two-wheeler sales rose 0.95% to 11,68,080 units from 11,57,114 units in April 2012

Passenger car sales in India fell in April, the sixth consecutive monthly fall, as sluggish economic activity, high financing costs and fuel expenses kept away customers from automobile showrooms. Sales stood at 1,50,789 units, a fall of 10.43 per cent — the steepest decline since April 2002, when sales fell 22.82 per cent.

Since the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) started collating data in 1997-98, this is the longest period during which car sales have stayed in negative territory.

Sugato Sen, deputy director general, Siam, said, “The high cost of ownership is affecting car sales, which have been dropping since November last year…Though the decline in sales is expected to continue for about two months, there are some positive signs. We may see some growth, as buyers of entry-level small cars have started coming to showrooms after price corrections on the fuel front.”

Overall, passenger vehicle sales fell 8.21 per cent to 2,08,386 units in April, compared with 2,27,037 units in April 2012. Sales of utility vehicles, which grew 52 per cent in FY13, rose only 3.99 per cent to 40,563 units.

While market leader Maruti Suzuki sold 90,523 units in April (growth of 0.3 per cent), Hyundai Motor India reported a drop of 7.6 per cent at 32,403 units. Overall, nine of the sixteen leading passenger vehicle manufacturers registered declines in sales.

According to Siam data, in April, motorcycle sales fell 2.06 per cent to 8,43,889 units from 8,61,608 units in the corresponding month last year. Sales of scooters, however, rose 14.72 per cent to 2,61,475 units. Siam said in April, overall two-wheeler sales rose 0.95 per cent to 11,68,080 units from 11,57,114 units in April 2012.

Sales of commercial vehicles rose 0.75 per cent to 56,678 units. Total sales of vehicles, across categories, fell to 14,67,492 units, a decline of 0.34 per cent compared with 14,72,452 units in the year-ago period.