Retail passenger vehicle sales dive 87% in May amid lockdown

nNEW DELHI: Retail sales of passenger vehicles plunged 87% in May from a year earlier to 30,749 units as dealerships gradually reopened but the lockdown aimed at arresting the spread of the coronavirus pandemic and fears of contracting infection kept most customers away.

Retail sales of trucks and buses recorded a bigger drop, falling nearly 97% from a year earlier to just 2,711 vehicles, showed data issued on Thursday by the Federation of Automobile Dealers

Associations (Fada), as the nationwide lockdown stifled economic activity.

Showroom sales of motorcycles and scooters also dropped 89% to 159,039 units during the month. Overall, total retail sales of automobiles in India across segments declined 89% to 202,697 units.

The government eased some of the strict lockdown measures to allow automakers to open some showrooms and service centres from the first week of May. Out of 26,500 dealership outlets, about 60% of the showrooms and 80% of workshops were operational across the country at the end of May, said Ashish Harsharaj Kale, president, Fada.

Hence, registrations in May are not indicative of the demand situation as the lockdown was still in place in several areas, he said.

“With an assumption of no further lockdown and continued reopening measures, there will be a substantial pickup in retail sales of automobiles in June in comparison to May, but the overall outlook continues to be grim, with projected sales to witness a decline of more than 25% compared to last year,” Kale said.