Utility Vehicles Drive Auto Sales In January
Domestic wholesales of passenger vehicles rose 11.14% year-on-year to 2.77 lakh units in January.
Factory-gate shipments of passenger vehicles rose for the sixth straight month, helped by utility vehicles.
Domestic wholesales of passenger vehicles rose 11.14% year-on-year to 2.77 lakh units in January, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.
Car sales fell 1.16% over the year earlier to 1.53 lakh units.
Wholesales of utility vehicles jumped 37.26% to 1.12 lakh units—also the sixth straight month of pick-up for the segment.
Total two-wheeler sales, too, rose for the sixth month in a row.
Total passenger vehicle shipments also rose 9.3% over the preceding month.
“Supply chain challenges, including rising price of steel, unavailability of semi-conductors, and higher container charges continue to be obstacles in smooth functioning of the industry,” Rajesh Menon, director general at SIAM, said in a media statement.
The pandemic has fuelled demand for personal mobility. But Indian automakers, battling several quarters of slowing sales, have not been able to keep up with supply as global shortage of microprocessors—the brains of electronic components used to control everything from anti-lock braking to airflow systems of cars—is making a quick ramp-up difficult after Covid-19 disruptions.
Auto Sales In January: Segment-Wise Breakup (Year-On-Year)
Scooter sales rose 9.06% to 4.54 lakh units.
Motorcycle sales increased 5.10% to 9.16 lakh units.
Total two-wheeler sales jumped 6.63% to 14.3 lakh vehicles.
Total three-wheeler sales slumped 56.76% to 26,335 units.
SIAM releases sales data for commercial vehicles on a quarterly basis.
Sales of three-wheelers continued to suffer primarily on account of lower offtake of passenger three-wheelers, Menon said. Total sales from April 2020-January 2021 period of passenger vehicles, according to him, were still below 2014-15 levels and for two-wheelers it is below 2013-14 levels.