Domestic passenger vehicle wholesales rise nearly 13% in November: SIAM

The reason for the rise in sales has been attributed to the festive season

Passenger vehicle wholesales in India increased by 4.65 per cent to 2,64,898 units in November as against 2,53,139 units in the same month last year riding on the back of festive demand, auto industry body SIAM said on Friday.

The industry body, which is currently led by Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) MD and CEO Kenichi Ayukawa, had earlier projected an increase of around 13 per cent in passenger vehicle wholesales in the monthly data.

However, later in the day, it sent out revised data after correcting MSI passenger vehicle wholesale figures of last month.

According to the latest data by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), two-wheeler sales rose 13.43 per cent to 16,00,379 units, compared with 14,10,939 units in the same month last year.

Motorcycle sales were at 10,26,705 units as against 8,93,538 units in November 2019, up 14.9 per cent. Scooter sales were also up by 9.29 per cent at 5,02,561 units, from 4,59,851 units in the same month last year.

Three-wheeler sales, however, declined by 57.64 per cent to 23,626 units last month as against 55,778 units in November 2019.

Total sales of passenger vehicles, two-wheelers, three-wheelers and the quadricycles during last month stood at 18,88,903 units, up 9.83 per cent from 17,19,874 units in November 2019.

"We have witnessed an increase in wholesale numbers in the month of November, where passenger vehicles grew by 4.65 per cent and two-wheelers by 13.43 per cent over the corresponding month of last year, primarily on account of the festive season," SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon said.

The retail sales of two-wheelers lag behind the wholesale numbers but would even out over a period, as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) engage with their dealers, he added.

"While the festive season brought back some fervour in specific segments, the overall economic scenario would determine the industry's performance going forward," Menon noted.

The total production of passenger vehicles, three-wheelers, two-wheelers and quadricycles last month stood at 22,96,701 units, as against 22,58,290 units in November 2019, marking a growth of 1.7 per cent.

Last month, the country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India witnessed a 2.41 per cent decline in its dispatches to dealers at 1,35,775 units. Hyundai Motor India on the other hand saw 9.42 per cent increase in wholesales at 48,800 units.

Kia Motors' dispatches increased by 50.1 per cent to 21,022 units in November, while Mahindra & Mahindra saw 24.46 per cent rise in wholesales at 21,022 units last month.

In the two-wheeler segment, Hero MotoCorp wholesales increased by 13.83 per cent to 5,75,957 units, while Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India witnessed 10.54 per cent rise in dispatches to dealers last month.

Similarly, TVS Motor Company witnessed an increase of 29.58 per cent in its wholesales at 2,47,789 units in November, as compared with the year-ago period.