Car sales plunge 66% as Covid bites

New Delhi: Passenger vehicle wholesales in India witnessed a month-on-month decline of 66 per cent in May as lockdowns across various States impacted dispatches to dealers, auto industry body SIAM said on Friday.

Passenger vehicle wholesales in May stood at 88,045 units, as compared to 2,61,633 units in April. As per the latest data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), two-wheeler dispatches to dealers dropped by 65 per cent to 3,52,717 units, compared to 9,95,097 units in April. Motorcycle sales declined 56 per cent last month to 2,95,257 units, as against 6,67,841 units in April. Similarly, scooter dispatches to showrooms were down 83 per cent to 50,294 units, from 3,00,462 units in April this year.

Three-wheeler sales declined by 91 per cent to 1,251 units, as compared to 13,728 units in April. Vehicle sales across categories witnessed a dip of 65 per cent to 4,42,013 units last month, as against 12,70,458 units in April this year. Commenting on the sales data, SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon said that many States were under lockdown due to Covid-19 cases for most part of the May thus impacting overall sales and production during the month. "Many members (auto cos) had also shut down their manufacturing plants to divert oxygen from industrial use for medical purposes," he added.

Menon noted that the Indian automobile industry stands committed to support the government in its battle against Covid-19 pandemic through various initiatives to augment availability of oxygen, support healthcare infrastructure and local communities. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) have also taken up large-scale vaccination of their employees, family members and dealer partners, he added.

Last month, the country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India dispatched 32,903 units to its dealer partners, down from 1,35,879 units in April. Similarly, Hyundai Motor India's wholesales last month dropped to 25,001 units as compared with 49,002 units in April. Kia India delivered 11,050 units, while Mahindra & Mahindra dispatched 8,004 passenger vehicle units to their respective showrooms last month as compared with 16,111 and 18,285 units respectively in April.

Automobile retail sales in the country declined by 55 per cent in May as compared to April this year. With Covid restrictions in various States, total registrations across categories in May dropped to 5,35,855 units as compared to 11,85,374 units in April this year.

According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), which collected vehicle registration data from 1,294 out of the 1,497 regional transport offices (RTOs), passenger vehicle (PV) sales declined by 59 per cent in May as compared with 2,08,883 units in April this year.