New Delhi : On the back of strong demand for utility vehicles in India, wholesale sales of passenger vehicles in the July-September quarter have been the highest ever in any quarter. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), an organization of vehicle manufacturers, 10,74,189 passenger vehicles (PV) were supplied from companies to dealers in the second quarter (July-September) of the current financial year 2023-24, which is the highest for FY 2022. This is 4.7 percent more than the figure of 10,26,309 units of the same period of 2013. This is also the first time that in the first half of a financial year (April-September), the wholesale sales of passenger vehicles in the domestic market has crossed the figure of 20 lakh.
SUVs account for 60 percent of passenger vehicle sales.
SIAM President Vinod Aggarwal said strong demand for utility and sports utility vehicles (SUVs) is driving sales growth in the PV segment. This is about 60 percent of total vehicle sales. He said that however the sales of low priced i.e. cheap cars are continuing to decline. Aggarwal said that wholesale sales of affordable cars declined to 35,000 units in the second quarter of this financial year compared to 1.38 lakh cars in July-September, 2018-19. He said that there was similar performance in the low cost two-wheeler segment also. Rural demand has still not recovered completely. Total PV wholesale sales increased from 19,36,804 units to 20,70,163 units in the first half of the financial year.
Sales of passenger, three-wheeler and commercial vehicles increased
Vinod Aggarwal said that the passenger, three-wheeler and commercial vehicle segments saw growth in the second quarter of 2023-24. However, there was a slight decline in wholesale sales of two-wheelers compared to the same period last year. Total two-wheeler sales declined to 45,98,442 units in July-September, 2023, from 46,73,931 units in the same period a year ago. The supply of commercial vehicles to dealers stood at 2,47,929 units, compared to 2,31,991 units in the same period a year ago. Total sales of three-wheelers increased to a record 1,95,215 units in the second quarter, from 1,20,319 units in the same period of the last financial year. Total vehicle sales in the July-September quarter stood at 61,16,091 units, which was 60,52,739 units in the second quarter of last year.
Sales expected to increase in festive season
SIAM President Vinod Aggarwal said that in view of the festive season, all sections of the industry are optimistic and good sales are expected in the third quarter also. He said that this growth in the auto sectors can be attributed to the country’s all-round economic growth, which has been possible through favorable government policies. Wholesale sales of passenger vehicles in the domestic market increased by 1.87 percent year-on-year to 3,61,717 units in September. 3,55,043 passenger vehicles were supplied by manufacturers to dealers in September, 2022.
Boom in sales of two-wheelers
According to SIAM, similarly, sales of two-wheelers increased to 17,49,794 units last month, which was 17,35,199 units in the same period a year ago. Total wholesale sales of three-wheelers in September, 2023 increased from 50,626 units in September, 2022 to 74,418 units. Total sales in September, 2023 were 21,41,208 units, which was 20,93,286 units in September, 2022.