Q1 auto sales cross 10-lakh mark for first time

Passenger vehicle wholesales crossed the 10-lakh mark for the first time ever in the June quarter riding on the back of  robust demand for utility vehicles, industry body SIAM said on Friday.

Total dispatches of passenger vehicles in the first quarter stood at 10,26,006 units, up 3 per cent as compared with 996,565 units in April-June FY24.

Utility vehicle sales rose 18 per cent to 645,794 units in the first quarter as against 547,194 units in the year-ago period.

Dispatches of vans stood at 38,919 units as against 35,648 units earlier, an increase of 9 per cent.

Passenger cars, however, saw a dip of 17 per cent to 341,293 units from 413,723 vehicles in the June quarter of last fiscal.

"Utility vehicles accounted for 63 per cent of the overall passenger vehicles sales in the first quarter..we are witnessing a migration of customers from sedan segment to utility vehicles," Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) president Vinod Aggarwal told reporters in New Delhi.

Passenger vehicle sales were the highest ever in the April-June period.

The sales also crossed the 10-lakh mark during the period for the first time ever, SIAM director general Rajesh Menon stated.

Two-wheeler dispatches in the first quarter rose to 49,85,631 units, up 20 per cent as compared with 41,40,964 units in the June quarter last year.

"Within two-wheelers, scooters have posted even higher growth based on some green shoots of recovery in entry level two-wheelers," Aggarwal noted.

Three-wheeler wholesales rose 14 per cent to 165,081 units in the first quarter as against 144,530 units in the April-June period last fiscal.

Commercial vehicle dispatches saw an increase of 3.5 per cent year-on- year to 224,209 units in the quarter.

Dispatches of units across categories rose 16 per cent to 64,01,006 units in the first quarter as compared with 54,98,752 units in the year-ago period.

"With a positive outlook on the monsoon and coming festive season, the automotive sector is poised to perform better in the balance part of the year," Aggarwal stated.

Asked about SIAM's stand regarding the dealers seeking better inventory management from OEMs, he noted that fluctuations keep happening and the industry body does not see it as a concern.

"We should not worry too much about the stocks because I am sure all the respective companies where the stock level is high will take corrective action," Aggarwal said.

It is not like that the stock levels will be high at all the companies, as some companies, in anticipation of higher sales, might have sold more units to their respective dealers.

To a query related to the Uttar Pradesh government announcing 100 per cent waiver of registration fees on hybrid vehicles and its impact on the EV sales, he stated that there were two different views emerging at the OEM level and therefore "SIAM would not like to comment" on the issue.

In the month of June, domestic passenger vehicle wholesales rose by 3 per cent year-on-year to 337,757 units.

The overall passenger vehicle (PV) dispatches from companies to dealers stood at 327,788 units in June 2023.

As per the data issued by SIAM, two-wheeler wholesales rose 21 per cent to 16,14,154 units last month, as compared with 13,30,826 units in June 2023.

Three-wheeler wholesales increased 12 per cent to 59,544 units from  53,025 units in June last year.