Wholesale automobile sales grow by 10.6 per cent in July on-demand recovery

Sales of two-wheelers in July 2022 are still below July 2016 numbers and sales of three-wheelers are still below July 2006 numbers.

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NEW DELHI: Auto wholesales in July 2022 reported a growth of 10.6% year-on-year to 1,706,545 units as every category witnessed a surge in demand last month when compared with the low base of the same month last year (July 2021), as per data issued by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Passenger vehicle (PV) dispatches from the factory to dealer showrooms stood at 2,93,865 units in July 2021 as against 2,64,442 in the same month last year. Within the PV segment, 1,43,522 units of passenger cars were sold in July 2022, while utility vehicle (UV) sales stood at 1,37,104 units. Vans sales during the month stood at 13,239 units.

SIAM data doesn’t include sales of Tata Motors, BMW, Mercedes and Volvo Auto. Tata Motors reported wholesales of 47,505 units during July 2022, a growth of 57% year-on-year. Total two-wheeler wholesales came at 1,381,303 units in July 2022 as compared to 1,260,140 units in July 2021, a growth of 9.6% Y-o-Y.

The growth in sales, especially of PVs, comes as the global auto industry is experiencing a marginal recovery in outsourcing the important semi-conductors whose shortage has dealt a big blow with original equipment manufacturers struggling to manufacture more despite a healthy demand. Passenger vehicle production grew by 7.7% in July while the same for two-wheelers rose by 3.7%.

Despite this improvement, the market for entry-level passenger cars, two-wheelers and three-wheelers is yet to recover and the third hike in repo rate will make ownership of vehicles more expensive, which may impact demand in these price-sensitive segments. Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM said, “Market for entry-level passenger cars, two-wheelers and three-wheelers are yet to recover.

Sales of two-wheelers in July 2022 are still below July 2016 numbers and sales of three-wheelers are still below July 2006 numbers. The third hike in a repo-rates in a row, to rein in high inflation, will make auto loans costlier, making it more difficult for entry-level vehicles to recover.”