What auto sales tell us about the demand problem in Indian economy

Wholesale two-wheeler sales are lagging PV sales by 10 steps, while retail 2W sales are 22 steps behind retail car sales, an analysis of auto sales data shows

Eighteen months into the pandemic, there is a definite sense of recovery in the Indian economy. Gross domestic product in April-June of FY22 was 20 per cent more than same period a year earlier, and services activity is picking up more recently. 

But the long-drawn recovery is also beset with a legacy problem: lacklustre demand. This could well be a result of a poor employment and income situation—unemployment rose in August according to Centre for Monitoring of Indian Economy. 

The symptoms, though, are visible in real consumption data. A look at broadly dis-aggregated data on sales of automobiles in India