Robust Demand: PV dispatches rise 17% in Jan to 2,98,093 units

NEW DELHI: Passenger vehicle wholesales rose 17 per cent in January to 2,98,093 units driven by robust offtake of utility vehicles, including the fast-growing sports utility vehicles, industry body SIAM said on Monday.

The overall passenger vehicle dispatch from companies to dealers was 2,54,287 units in January 2022.

Utility vehicle sales rose to 1,49,328 units last month from 1,16,962 units in January last year. Similarly, passenger car dispatches grew to 1,36,931 units from 1,16,962 units.

Wholesales of vans also increased to 11,834 units from 10,632 units in the year-ago period.

Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) president Vinod Aggarwal noted that better consumer sentiment is driving demand for passenger vehicles.

SIAM director general Rajesh Menon said “Passenger vehicles again saw highest ever sales in the month of January and for the first time, it has crossed 3 million sales mark in 10 months, from April to January period.” In the April-January period of this fiscal, the total passenger vehicle dispatches stood at 31,69,788 units, up 32 per cent from 24,03,125 units in the same period of last fiscal.

Total two-wheeler wholesales in January rose 4 per cent to 11,84,379 units from 11,40,888 units in the same month last year. “The rate of growth of two-wheelers in the recent year has not kept pace with the growth in the other segments,” Aggarwal stated.

Scooter dispatches grew to 3,76,035 units last month from 3,61,299 units in January 2022. Motorcycle wholesales were higher at 7,71,621 units as compared with 7,43,804 units in the same month last year.

Moped sales rose to 36,723 units from 35,785 units in the year-ago period. Three-wheeler dispatches last month surged over two-fold to 48,903 units from 24,178 units in January 2022.

“Three-wheeler segment has gained traction compared to the past two years, though they are still to reach the pre-COVID levels,” Aggarwal said.

The passenger carrier segment witnessed the biggest growth at 37,061 units last month from 16,592 units in the year-ago period. Total wholesales across passenger vehicles, two-wheelers and three-wheelers rose to 15,31,447 units last month from 14,19,354 units in January 2022.