SIAM Unleashed a Hefty 22% YoY Growth in Passenger Vehicles

As per the latest data released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), PV sales in September stood at 2,78,428 units compared to 2,32,170 units in the same month last year while PVs in March 2012 had seen the sale of 2,95,403 units, showing year-on-year growth of about 22 per cent.

NEW DELHI: Experts believe that there are many reasons for the exponential growth in sales of domestic passenger vehicle (PV) which showed growth at 19.92 per cent in September. This steep growth curve is considered to be highest in volumes in over four-and-a-half years in the utility vehicles segment.

Utility vehicle sales last month saw 37.93 per cent jump to 66,851 units, from 48,467 units a year ago. Car sales, on the other hand, grew by 15.14 per cent to 1,95,259 units as against 1,69,590 units.

“The passenger vehicle numbers represent build up of inventories for the festive season. Besides, various car makers have been able to sort out capacity issues leading to supply of certain models which are in high demand,” Sugato Sen, Deputy Director General of SIAM.

Buoyed by the sustained performance, SIAM expects growth in the PV segment in the current fiscal to be in the 10-13 per cent range.

“This festive season is looking great for the Indian auto industry. Entire industry is geared up for this season. We expect this year to be far more exciting and positive in terms of business as compared to previous years,” says Vishal Mathur, Director General of SIAM.

For the April-September period of the current financial year, the PV segment grew by 12.34 per cent over the same period last fiscal.

UVs rose by 40.24 per cent during the period, while passenger cars sales grew by 5.11 per cent.

Demand for passenger vehicles has been driven by new models, especially in the SUV category with the likes of Maruti Vitara Brezza and Hyundai Creta clocking good numbers.

In September, market leader Maruti Suzuki India’s domestic PV sales grew by 29.41 per cent to 1,37,277 units. It had sold 1,05,236 cars as against 87,916 units in the same month last year, up 19.7 per cent.

Rival Hyundai Motors India also saw its PV sales marginally at 42,605 units. The company’s car sales were at 33,742 units as against 35,193 units in the year-ago month, down 4.12 per cent.

Homegrown utility vehicles major Mahindra & Mahindra saw PV sales jump by 4.97 per cent in September to 20,537 units. Its utility vehicle sales were at 19,206 units as against 18,717 units in the same month last year, up 2.61 per cent.

According to SIAM, total two-wheeler sales in September grew 21.59 per cent to 18,68,993 units compared with 15,37,104 units in the year-ago month.

“Motorcycle sales have picked up in rural areas and scooters continue to do well in urban areas,” Sen said.   Motorcycle sales in the country grew 16.33 per cent lastmonth to 11,86,770 units, from 10,20,204 a year ago.

Market leader Hero MotoCorp sold 5,70,591 units as against 5,26,658 units last year, up 8.34 per cent. Rival Bajaj Auto posted a growth of 22.79 per cent at 2,30,502 units as against 1,87,711 units a year-ago.

However, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) saw its motorcycle sales grow by 24.82 per cent to 1,83,785 units compared with 1,47,229 units in September last year.

In scooters segment, overall sales zoomed by 30.6 per cent to 6,03,818 units as against 4,62,341 units in the same month last year.

Market leader HMSI posted a growth of 34.51 per cent at 3,55,688 units as against 2,64,416 units in the corresponding month last year.

Hero MotoCorp’s scooter sales jumped by 33.34 per cent to 83,990 units as against 62,986 units in year-ago month.

Chennai-based TVS Motor posted scooter sales of 78,534 units compared with 71,303 units in September 2015, a growth of 10.14 per cent.

Sales of commercial vehicles, however, declined by 1.95 per cent to 61,621 units in the month under review, from 62,845 in the year-ago period, SIAM said.