Robust demand spurs 20 per cent rise in car sales

According to the data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), 199,479 passenger cars were sold in May as compared to 166,732 in the corresponding month of 2017. 

The off-take of other sub-segments of passenger vehicle category such as utility vehicles rose by 17.53 per cent during the month to 82,086 units while sales of vans zoomed by 29.54 per cent to 19,673 units. Overall domestic passenger vehicle sales edged higher by 19.65 per cent in May to 301,238 units from 251,764 units in the corresponding period in 2017. 

“Domestic passenger vehicle (PV) registered stellar 19.7 per cent growth in May 2018, supported by new launches by OEMs like Honda (Amaze), Toyota (Yaris) and Ford (Freestyle) and subsequent impact on inventory stocking by dealers,” said Ashish Modani, Co-Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA. 

“Wholesale volume growth will moderate in coming months, once dealer inventory gets replenished with recently launched models. 

ICRA expects 8-9 per cent growth for domestic PV industry during FY2019.”  Besides, the industry data disclosed that sales of overall commercial vehicles zoomed by 43.06 per cent to 76,478 units in May. The segment is a key indicator of economic activity. 

The sales of three-wheelers accelerated by 51.97 per cent to 54,809 units during the month. Overall sales of two-wheelers, which include scooters, motorcycles and mopeds, climbed by 9.19 per cent to 1,850,093 units. 

Total sales of the Indian automobile sector rose by 12.13 per cent during May 2018 to 2,282,618 units across segments and categories. The overall exports of vehicles across categories also edged higher by 23.84 pc to 398,789 units last month. 

Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) ‘CEOs opinion poll’ on Monday showed that 82 per cent of the chief executives expect GDP growth to be higher than seven per cent for 2018-19. As per the poll data, out of the 82 per cent, 10 per cent of CEOs expect the growth rate to even go above 7.5 per cent. Besides, 92 per cent of CEOs polled expect further increase in consumption demand during 201819.  

The meeting of CII’s National Council (NC) held in Pune on June 4, and attended by more than 80 senior corporate leaders. The members lauded the landmark policy of Fixed Term Employment which has recently been extended to all sectors. Sector-wise, the overall opinion of CII members on the manufacturing sector was that “demand is healthy, although input costs are rising.” CII President Rakesh Bharti Mittal said: “Most manufacturing sectors are firing up now, with automotives, FMCG, electronics and chemicals leading the way. Rural demand is expected to remain resurgent on the back of normal monsoons as forecast.”