PV sales rise 9% to record 3,59,228 units in August 2023 on utility vehicle spurt: SIAM

Powered by utility vehicles, PV dispatches to dealers increase 9 percent in August, says SIAM.

Passenger Vehicle (PV) wholesales in India rose 9 percent year-on-year in August at 3,59,228 units owing to health growth in Utility Vehicle sales during the same month, as per the data shared by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). The auto industry body said that the total number of PVs sold during August last year was 3,28,376 units.

“Last month saw the highest ever August month sales for passenger vehicles and three-wheelers,” Vinod Aggarwal, President, SIAM, said in a statement.

The robust wholesale numbers last month were driven by huge vehicle offtake due to the onset of the festive season, rising production levels leading to reduced waitlists of bestselling models, and sustained economic growth. As per the data shared by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) earlier, carmakers retailed a total of 3,15,153 passenger vehicles last month as against 2,95,842 units in August 2022, a 7 percent YoY increase in sales.

In the PV segment, Maruti Suzuki's domestic sales were at 1,56,114 units as against 1,34,166 units in the year-ago month, a growth of 16.4 percent. Hyundai Motor India dispatched 53,830 units to dealers as against 49,510 units in the same month last year.

Utility vehicles shine

Utility vehicles dispatched to dealers during August increased 34 per cent year-on-year to 1,81,825 units. Passenger car dispatches, on the other hand, declined 10 percent to 1,20,031 units from 1,33,477 units in August 2022. Van wholesales also dipped to 11,859 units from 12,236 units, as per SIAM data.

Three-wheeler sales rose to 64,763 units in August as against 38,369 units in the same month last year. Two-wheeler dispatches increased to 15,66,594 units from 15,57,429 units.

“Two-wheeler sales remained at levels similar to a year ago,” added Aggarwal. He also said that the industry witnessed good growth in the commercial vehicle segment in August 2023.

“Based on the performance of last month, we are even more optimistic for demand to pick up during the festive season, enabled by a positive economic outlook and the revival of monsoon after a deficit in August,” Aggarwal said.