Car sales fall for seventh straight month

Car sales slid 12.26 per cent in May 2013, the seventh consecutive month of decline, triggering job loss fears if the trend continues, according to statistics released on Tuesday by industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Domestic passenger car sales in May stood at 1.43 lakh units as against 1.63 units in May 2012 and 1.51 lakh units in April 2013.

SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur, said, “This is the longest stretch of consecutive decline in car sales we have witnessed. Even in the 2008-09 downturn there was no such prolonged period of fall. These are worrying times for the automobile industry.”

The silver lining was 13.88 per cent growth year-on-year witnessed in the scooter segment registered during the April-May period this year.

For May, Maruti Suzuki had reported 8.3 per cent decline in passenger car sales and overall decline in domestic sales of 13 per cent, while exports fell sharply by 27 per cent.

Cumulative data for April-May 2013 showed overall domestic passenger car sales fell 11.33 per cent y-o-y, despite utility vehicles posting 4 per cent growth. Exports of cars increased 4.65 per cent.