Auto Sales Rise In October Aided By Festival Season
The total dispatches to dealerships rose 6.2% year-on-year to 19.23 lakh units in October
Auto sales in India rose in October, boosted by festival demand, but two-wheelers witnessed only marginal growth as inflation impacted rural markets.
The total dispatches to dealerships rose 6.2% year-on-year to 19.23 lakh units in October, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. Passenger vehicles witnessed the highest growth, across segments, of 28.6% to 2.91 lakh units as dispatches rose in the sport utility vehicle and passenger car segments.
“Good market sentiments coupled with festive boost resulted in higher sales in October, especially for passenger vehicles,” said Vinod Aggarwal, president of SIAM, in a statement. “Higher inflation and rising interest rates have impacted the rural market more, thereby returning marginal growth of the two-wheeler segment.”
Passenger three-wheelers are seeing better off-take due to increased shared mobility in semi-urban and urban areas, Aggarwal said.
The overall growth in volumes can be partially credited to the low base of last year, as a severe shortage of semiconductors limited vehicle production.
The overall two-wheeler dispatches inched up just 1.6% to 15.78 lakh units.
Within the category, dispatches of motorcycles grew only 0.2%, while scooter dispatches rose nearly 7%, indicating a clear divergence in rural and urban regions as a higher number of scooters are sold in urban markets.
Despite sharp jump in various categories, sales remain below historical levels in several segments.
“Though passenger vehicles have reported the highest ever domestic sales in April to October period, sales of two-wheelers in these seven months of 2022 are still lower than those of 2016,” Rajesh Menon, director general at SIAM, said in the press release.
The three-wheeler sales are lower than the tally in 2010, he said. Similarly, exports of passenger vehicles continued to grow, while there has been a drop in exports of both two and three-wheelers.
SIAM October 2022 Volumes (YoY):
Passenger car sales rose 35.7% to 1.41 lakh units.
SUV dispatches rose nearly 26% to 1.41 lakh units.
Motorcycle sales rose 0.2% to 10.20 lakh units.
Scooter sales rose nearly 7% to 5.13 lakh units.