Festive demand boosts PV sales in Oct

Passenger vehicle wholesale in India increased by 14.19 per cent to 3,10,294 units in October against 2,71,737 units in the same month last year as companies despatched more units to dealers to cater to enhanced demand in the festive season, auto industry body SIAM said on Wednesday.

According to the latest data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), two-wheeler sales also rose 16.88 per cent to 20,53,814 units, compared with 17,57,180 units in the same month last year.

Motorcycle sales were at 13,82,749 units as against 11,16,886 units in October 2019, up 23.8 per cent.

Scooter sales were also up 1.79 per cent at 590,507 units from 580,120 units in the same month last year.

Three-wheeler sales, however, declined by 60.91 per cent to 26,187 units last month as against 66,985 units in the same month last year.

"The month of October saw continuity in sales growth trajectory, drawing on from the previous month.

“There were marked improvements witnessed across certain segments due to very good festive demand," SIAM director general Rajesh Menon said.

Three-wheelers saw a slight improvement in sales, compared to the last month, however, it has still registered a de-growth of 60.91 per cent, over the corresponding month of last year, he added.

"October wholesale numbers have been good on account of dealers preparing to serve demand for the upcoming Diwali festival, which is in November this year," Menon said.

During the month, wholesale of Maruti Suzuki India stood at 163,656 units, up 17.64 per cent from the same month last year.

Similarly, Hyundai Motor India sales rose to 56,605 units, up 13.9 per cent from October 2019.

Kia Motors dispatched 20,621 units last month, an increase of 61.25 per cent over October 2019.

In the two-wheeler space, Hero MotoCorp wholesale stood at 791,137 units in October, up 34.78 per cent from the same month last year.

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India sales stood at 494,459 units last month, up 1.36 per cent from October 2019.

TVS Motor Company saw its wholesale increase by 19.27 per cent to 301,380 units last month as compared with the same month last year.

Earlier this week automobile dealers' body FADA had reported an 8.8 per cent dip in passenger vehicle (PV) retail sales in October at 249,860 units.

According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), which collected vehicle registration data from 1,257 out of the 1,464 regional transport offices (RTOs), PV sales stood at 2,73,980 units in October 2019.

Total retail sales across categories declined 23.99 per cent to 14,13,549 units, last month compared to 18,59,709 units in the year-ago period.

Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters