Chip woes dent auto sales in February

New Delhi: Leading carmakers Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Toyota and Honda witnessed a drop in vehicle dispatches to dealers last month as the global semiconductor shortage continued to impact production.

Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Skoda and MG Motor, on the other hand, reported an increase in wholesales in February as compared to the same month last year. The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said its domestic sales slipped 8.46 per cent to 1,40,035 units as against 1,52,983 units in February 2021. "The shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production of vehicles which are primarily sold in the domestic market. The company took all possible measures to minimise the impact," the auto major noted. Sales of the company's mini cars, comprising Alto and S-Presso, fell 17.81 per cent to 19,691 units last month as compared to 23,959 in the same month last year. Similarly, dispatch of compact models like Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno and Dzire dipped 3.38 per cent to 77,795 units as against 80,517 cars in February 2021.

Sales of utility vehicles, including Vitara Brezza, S-Cross and Ertiga, also declined to 25,360 units from 26,884 vehicles earlier. Similarly, Hyundai Motor India, the country's second largest carmaker, reported a 14.6 per cent drop in domestic sales to 44,050 units last month as against 51,600 in February 2021. "As the industry continues to grapple with the semiconductor shortage situation, the company along with its partners is continuously exploring alternatives to ensure customers can take delivery of their most loved Hyundai cars at the earliest," it stated. Toyota Kirloskar Motor said its domestic sales declined by 38 per cent to 8,745 units in February. Similarly, Honda Cars reported a 23 per cent decline in domestic wholesales to 7,187 units for February. "On the supply side, chip shortage continued to impact our production and despatches in Feb'22. We hope the situation improves in future so that we can meet the market demand more effectively," Honda Cars India Director (Marketing and Sales) Yuichi Murata said.

Tata Motors reported a 47 per cent increase in passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market in February at 39,981 units compared to 27,225 units in the same month last year. Similarly, Mahindra & Mahindra said its passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market soared by 80 per cent to 27,663 units last month as against 15,391 units in February 2021. "All segments showed robust growth including SUVs at 79 per cent, which registered the highest ever monthly volume.

We expect demand to continue to remain strong as the Covid situation eases further. "We continue to closely monitor the semiconductor-related parts supply and take corrective action as appropriate," M&M Automotive Division CEO Veejay Nakra noted. Besides, Skoda Auto India reported an over five-fold surge in sales to 4,503 units last month, riding on the success of its mid-sized SUV Kushaq. Similarly, MG Motor India said its retail sales increased 5 per cent year-on-year to 4,528 units in February. The automaker had retailed 4,329 units in February 2021.