NEW DELHI: Passenger vehicle sales (factory dispatches) grew by 4.65 per cent in November year-on-year, coming in at 264,898 units against 253,139 units sold in the same month last year, according to the latest data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
“While the festive season brought back some fervour in specific segments, the overall economic scenario would determine the industry’s performance going forward,” said Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM. Two-wheeler sales stood at 1,600,379 units in November, recording a 13.43 per cent growth year-on-year. Retail sales of two-wheelers, however, were much lower than factory dispatches during the month.
Going ahead, however, the shortage of semi-conductors is likely to impact supply chains and, subsequently, the production capacity of automakers. On Tuesday, leading component maker Bosch had stated that imports of micro-processors (semi-conductors) have been hit following a global surge in demand from the consumer electronics industry. On Wednesday, Mahindra & Mahindra added that this shortage is estimated to result in a reduction in production and sales.
Deepak Jain, President of ACMA, said that the industry is keenly watching the situation. According to experts, it is still not clear as to what extent, and for how long, the shortage of semiconductors will impact vehicle production in India.
“Any stoppage of vehicle lines have a resonating effect on the entire auto component manufacturing ecosystem. We are continuing to engage with the OEMs and monitoring the situation,” said Jain, adding that the electronic content in vehicles has been progressively increasing. “Incidents such as these only precipitate the need for localisation and self-reliance in auto electronics in the country,” he pointed out.