New Delhi:
The passenger vehicles sales in India is seeing one of the worst slowdowns in its history and has registered another drop in sales in July 2019.Declining for the ninth consecutive month, domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales dropped 30.98 per cent to 2,00,790 units in July, from 2,90,931 units in the same period a year ago. Domestic car sales were down 35.95 per cent at 1,22,956 units as against 1,91,979 units in July 2018, according to data released by the auto industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
This is the sharpest decline in nearly 19 years, SIAM reported. It said passenger car sales in July were also worst since December 2000 when the segment had declined by 39.86 per cent. Last month, domestic car sales were down 35.95 per cent at 1,22,956 units as against 1,91,979 units in July 2018.
Motorcycle sales last month declined 18.88 per cent to 9,33,996 units for the month as against 11,51,324 units in the year-ago period. Total two-wheeler sales in July declined 16.82 per cent to 15,11,692 units compared to 18,17,406 units in the year-ago month. Sales of commercial vehicles were down 25.71 per cent to 56,866 units in July as compared with 76,545 units in the year-ago period, SIAM said.
Vehicle sales across categories registered a decline of 18.71 per cent to 18,25,148 units from 22,45,223 units in July 2018, it added. In fact, all vehicle categories witnessed a decline in sales during the month.
Seeking urgent government help,SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur told reporters here, “We are hoping that the government would soon come out with a revival package… However, it is still not clear what all elements would be included in it.”
The auto industry has sought reduction in GST rate, introduction of vehicle scrappage policy, revival of NBFC sector as sales are mostly dependent on availability of finance and delay in implementation of the proposed increase in vehicle registration fees, Mathur said when asked about the demands put forth by the industry to the government.
He said there was a consensus among the industry players for reduction in GST rate cut as it would help in bringing the cost of buying vehicles down.
“We are saying that reduction in GST rate, even for a temporary time, would help in reviving the sales… The more the industry goes down, more difficult it would become for it to come up,” Mathur said.
If the industry goes down, the GDP will go down as automobile industry accounts for half of the manufacturing GDP and employs around 3.7 crore people directly and indirectly, he added.
In PV segment, market leader Maruti Suzuki India posted 36.71 per cent decline in its July sales at 96,478 units. Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) also witnessed 10.28 per cent decrease at 39,010 units, while Mahindra & Mahindra posted a fall of 14.74 per cent at 16,830 units in during the month.
In the two-wheeler category, Hero MotoCorp registered a 22.9 per cent drop in sales at 5,11,374 units, while rival Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) saw sales decline by 10.53 per cent to 4,55,036 units.