PV sales touch all-time high in Q2; UVs account for nearly 60% of volumes

As per SIAM data, total PV sales in the domestic market went up by 4.7 percent to 10.74 lakh units in the July-September quarter, the highest ever in a quarter, from 10.26 lakh in the same period last year

Thanks to rising demand and enhanced production of utility vehicles (UVs), passenger vehicle (PV) wholesales in the country touched an all-time high in the July-September 2023 quarter, according to the Society of Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

As per SIAM data, total PV sales in the domestic market went up by 4.7 percent to 10.74 lakh units in the July-September quarter, the highest ever in a quarter from 10.26 lakh in the same period last year.

UV sales climbed 23.4 percent year-on-year (YoY) to 6,39,552 units in the September 2023 quarter from 5,17,898 units in the second quarter (Q2) of the previous financial year. This segment accounted for nearly 60 percent of PV sales during the July-September quarter.

“The phenomenal growth in the PV segment comes on the back of robust demand for multi-utility and sports utility vehicles,” stated Vinod Aggarwal, President, SIAM, adding, “As we get into the festival season, all segments of the industry are optimistic and are looking forward to posting good numbers in Q3 as well.”

It is also the first time ever that domestic PV wholesales have crossed the 20 lakh mark in the first half (April-September) of any financial year. In the first six months of the fiscal, total PV wholesales rose to 20,70,163 units from 19,36,804 units in the same period of the previous year.

However, according to Aggarwal, sales of entry-level cars “continued to slide” due to the constant “stress in the rural economy”.

The entry-level car segment, comprising the Alto K10 and Kwid, among others, saw its wholesales decline to 35,000 units in Q2 FY 2023-24 compared to the peak of 1.38 lakh cars in July-September 2018-19, pointed out Aggarwal.

“A similar trend is seen in the entry-level two-wheeler segment with rural demand yet to pick up fully,” he noted.

Meanwhile, Aggarwal said PVs, three-wheelers, and commercial vehicle segments continued to witness growth in Q2 of the financial year (FY) 2023-24, although two-wheeler wholesale numbers posted a marginal de-growth, compared to the same period last year.

As per SIAM, the total two-wheeler dispatches declined by 1.6 percent to 45,98,442 units in July-September 2023 compared to 46,73,931 units in the year-ago period. Total three-wheeler wholesales surged 62.2 percent to a record 1,95,215 units in Q2 FY24 compared with 1,20,319 units YoY.
Commercial vehicle dispatches rose 6.9 percent to 2,47,929 units from 2,31,991 units in the year-ago period.

Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM, said, “Commercial vehicles also posted a decent growth of 6.9 percent in this quarter, compared to Q2 of last financial year, driven by good growth in the medium and heavy commercial vehicles MHCVs). The two-wheeler segment has declined by 1.6 percent in this quarter compared to last year.”

In the September quarter, overall sales rose to 61,16,091 units from 60,52,739 units in Q2   FY 23.

“This growth in the automobile sector can be attributed to the all-round economic growth of the country, which is also enabled through conducive government policies,” stated Aggarwal, who is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV).

In the September quarter of 2023, PV dispatches increased to 3,61,717 units from 3,55,043 units YoY, a growth of 1.87 percent, SIAM data showed. The majority of the volumes came from UV sales, which posted a YoY growth of 28 percent at 1,93,872 units in September 2023 from 1,51,759 units in 2022.

Similarly, two-wheeler sales went up marginally by 0.84 percent to 17,49,794 units last month from 17,35,199 units in September 2022. YoY sales of the scooter and motorcycle segments posted YoY growth, though moped numbers went down to 44,943 units from 47,613 units last year. Total three-wheeler wholesales rose to 74,418 units last month from 50,626 units in September 2022.