Car Sales in the country fell
to 22.5% in March to reach 180,675 units from 233,151 units, according to the
data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
Passenger car sales in
India fell 7 % in FY2013, the first such decline in over a decade, Society of
Indian Automobile Manufacturers said. However, the industry body is hopeful of
a pickup in FY14.
Sales across passenger
cars, medium & heavy commercial vehicles and two-wheeler's have been hit
amid expensive loans, rising fuel prices and the overall economic slowdown also
has dampened sentiments.
The slowdown has hit truck
and bus makers like Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland and car
makers including Maruti Suzuki and other domestic and multi-national
rivals hard.
According to the monthly data
published by the industry body, passenger car sales slumped 23 percent Y-o-Y to
1.8 lakh units in March.
Commercial Vehicle (CV) sales last month were down 6 percent from a year ago to 84,956 units and total
two-wheeler sales declined near 7 percent to 11 lakh units. Motorcycle sales
slipped 8 percent to 7.8 lakh units.
In the last financial year, CV sales were down 2 percent and motorcycle sales saw only marginal growth.
Total vehicle exports,
meanwhile, inched up 3 percent to 2.3 lakh units in March.
FY14 FORECAST
SIAM has had to revise its
sales forecast several times in FY13. It had initially predicted a double
digit growth in car sales, but finally cut it to 0-1 percent as sales remained
in the slow lane.
This year, it is more
cautious and expects car sales to raise 3-5 percent. Utility vehicles, which
have seen good growth, helped by new launches in the compact UV segment, are
expected to clock 11-13 percent growth.
CV sales in FY14 are likely
to rise 7-9 percent, with light truck sales growing 10-12 percent. M&HCV
sales will continue to see slow growth (1-3 percent growth forecast).
SIAM expects motorcycle
sales to grow 6-8 percent in 2013-14.
Sourced
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