NEW DELHI: Factory dispatches of passenger vehicles (PV) increased 13.59 per cent to 2,52,998 units in December 2020 as against a low base of 2,22,728 units in December 2019. The growth was also boosted by spillover demand from the festive season, new car launches and a fear of price hike from January 2021.
In the October-December quarter of the current financial year (Q3 FY21), PV wholesale sales rose 14.44 per cent year-on-year to 8,97,908 units. But, the sales for April-December period are still lower by 16 per cent after COVID-induced disruptions severely impacted the sector in the first two quarters.
SIAM President Kenichi Ayukawa said passenger vehicle and two-wheeler segments in the third quarter have shown some recovery, while commercial vehicle and three-wheeler segments were still in the negative zone.
"However, the third-quarter numbers could include an element of deferred demand for the first quarter. If we look at the cumulative numbers of the nine-month period from April to December 2020, it shows that sales of all segments are still behind by many years," added Ayukawa.
According to official data, PV sales between April-December FY21 at 17,77,874 units (-16.06 per cent) is at its lowest in 10 years while two-wheeler sales at 10,765,788 units (-22.63 per cent) during this period is at its lowest in 7 years.
SIAM data also revealed that industry growth (CAGR) over the last five years has fallen drastically. Going ahead, SIAM said the outlook remains uncertain and dynamic as the country is still in the middle of a pandemic. The industry is also facing a shortage of semiconductors, steel and shipping containers leading to shortage in production and exports.
In the two-wheeler segment, SIAM data showed that sales went up by 7.42 per cent to 11,27,917 units in December 2020, compared to 10,50,038 last year. Two-wheeler sales during the quarter under review rose 13.37 per cent to 47,82,110 units.
However, commercial vehicle sales dipped 1.12 per cent to 1,93,034 units during the third quarter as against 1,95,211 units in October-December 2019. Vehicle sales across categories during the r quarter rose 10.61 per cent to 59,44,991 units.