Domestic passenger car sales plunge 26% in Feb: SIAM

Moneycontrol Bureau

There seems to be no end to the speed bumps encountered by passenger car makers in India. Domestic car sales in Feb plunged 26 percent year-on-year to 1.59 lakh units, the most in 12 years, according to data released by Society Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Total passenger vehicle sales (cars + utility vehicles) last month declined 17 percent. Car sales in India have slumped over the last one year amid high fuel prices and expensive loans. Only utility vehicles have seen good growth, helped by new launches like Mahindra Quanto, Renault Duster and Maruti Suzuki Ertiga. So far this financial year (Apr-Feb), passenger car sales are down 5 percent at 17.15 lakh units, according to SIAM. Utility vehicle sales, on the other hand, have accelerated 54 percent to about 5 lakh units. Its not just car sales that have hit the slow lane. Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicles and two-wheelers also continue to see sluggish demand. Over Apr-Feb, M&HCV sales are down 23 percent to 2.39 lakh units, while LCV sales have gained 15 percent to 4.70 lakh units. Total CV sales so far this fiscal have slipped 1.5 percent to 7.08 lakh units. In the two-wheeler space, only scooters witnessed some growth last month, gaining around 3 percent. However, moped sales were flat and motorcycle sales tumbled 4.5 percent. In the Apr-Feb period, two-wheeler sales grew just 4 percent to 1.63 crore units. Scooter sales gained 16 percent at 26.73 lakh units, motorcycles grew 1 percent at 93 lakh units and moped sales were up 2 percent at 7.2 lakh units.