Passenger vehicles sales dip 19% in Nov on chip woes

Passenger vehicle wholesales in the country declined by 19 pc in November as the semiconductor shortage continued to impact vehicle production and subsequent deliveries to dealer partners, auto industry body SIAM said on Friday.

The passenger vehicle (PV) dispatches last month stood at 215,626 units, down 19 per cent from 264,898 units in November 2020.

Similarly, total two-wheeler sales declined sharply by 34 per cent to 10,50,616 units last month from 16,00,379 units in the year-ago period.

Total three-wheeler dispatches stood at 22,471 units, down 7 per cent from 24,071 units in November 2020.

Total automobile sales across categories drooped to 12,88,759 units last month compared to 18,89,348 units in the year-ago period.

"Industry continues to face headwinds due to global semi-conductor shortage.

"In the festive season, industry was hoping to make up for the lost ground, but the sales in the month of November 2021, were the lowest in seven years for passenger vehicles, the lowest in 11 years for two-wheelers and the lowest in 19 years for three-wheelers," Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) director general Rajesh Menon said in a statement.

Amidst the rising threat of Omicron, the new Covid variant, industry is pro-actively ensuring employee safety and monitoring any supply chain hiccups, he added.

Photograph: Reuters