No festive cheers for car makers in Oct

Festive season failed to bring cheers to automobile manufacturers as domestic passenger vehicle sales dropped marginally in October, the first decline in four months with companies resorting to inventory correction. Passenger vehicle (PV) sales declined to 2,79,837 units in October from 2,80,677 units in the same month last year, according to the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Friday.

Car sales were also down 5.32 per cent to 1,84,666 units last month as against 1,95,036 units in October last year. This is also the first decline since June this

year when car sales declined by 11.24 per cent.

"The festive season could have been a lot better but this is not necessarily a reflection of market sentiment. It is a temporary blip...The decline in sales is more to do with inventory correction by the manufacturers," SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur said here. From July to September

there was inventory build-up by manufacturers at dealerships ahead of the festival purchases and in October they have reduced dispatches, he added. The last drop in PV sales this year was in June when the dispatches declined by 11.21 per cent, Mathur said.

The decline was also reflected in the overall vehicle sales across categories.