Cars on display at Maruti Suzuki showroom in Gurugram Photo credit: PTI
Retail sales of vehicles in India rose 16 percent to nearly 1.8 million units in February 2023, helped by strong demand during the wedding season, an industry body of automobile dealers said on March 6, 2023. Can increase sales further. In March, 2023.
Sales have picked up in the past two months as chip shortages eased and carmakers launched new models to meet demand ahead of the festive and wedding season. However, rising interest rates amid high inflation are seen as dampening sentiment, with overall sales in February 2023 still below pre-Covid levels.
The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said in a statement that two-wheeler sales grew by 15 per cent, while three-wheeler sales grew by 81 per cent, passenger vehicle sales by 11 per cent, tractors by 14 per cent and commercial vehicles by 14 per cent. Sales increased by 17%.
Change in emission standards FADA added that from April 2023, which will see a hike in vehicle prices, and automakers launching promotional offers in the last month of the financial year, will help boost sales in March 2023.
The industry body cited a number of festivals for demand in March, 2023, including the two-day festival of colors – Holi, and the regional New Year celebrations of Ugadi and Gudi Padwa.
FADA publishes retail sales data, while Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), which usually releases data in the second week of the month, counts vehicles sold to dealers.
Auto sales numbers are closely watched, as they are one of the key indicators to gauge private consumption and weigh more than 50% of a country’s economic growth.
Meanwhile, the industry body warned that the return forecast of El Nino weather patterns in the Pacific OceanWhich could mean a weak monsoon in India and could result in lower production and higher prices, hurting commercial vehicle sales.
India’s two top bike makers TVS Motor Co and Hero MotoCorp beat domestic sales estimates in February 2023 as chip supply shortages eased.
The three-wheeler segment saw strong demand after government subsidies breached pre-pandemic levels for the first time in February 2023, FADA said.
