Passenger vehicle sales dip 19% on chip scarcity
NEW DELHI: Passenger vehicle (PV) sales in the country declined by 19% in November as the shortage of semiconductors continued to impact vehicle production and subsequent deliveries to dealers, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) said on Friday.
PV dispatches to dealers last month stood at 215,626 units, down 19% from 264,898 units in November 2020. Similarly, total two-wheeler sales declined sharply by 34% to 1,050,616 units in November, from 1,600,379 units in the year-ago period.
Motorcycle dispatches dropped to 699,949 units in November, as compared to 1,026,705 units in the same month last year.
Scooter dispatches stood at 306,899 units last month, as against 502,561 units in the same period last year.
Total three-wheeler dispatches stood at 22,471 units, down 7% from 24,071 units in November 2020. Total automobile sales across categories dropped to 1,288,759 units last month, as against 1,889,348 units in the year-ago period.
“Industry continues to face headwinds due to global semiconductor shortage. In the festive season, industry was hoping to make up for the lost ground, but the sales in the month of November 2021, were the lowest in seven years for passenger vehicles, the lowest in 11 years for two-wheelers and the lowest in 19 years for threewheelers,” Siam director general Rajesh Menon said in a statement. Amidst the rising threat of Omicron, the new covid variant, industry is proactively ensuring employee safety and monitoring any supply chain hiccups, he added.
In November, passenger vehicle market leader Maruti Suzuki India’s dispatches declined to 109,726 units, as compared with 135,775 units in November 2020.
FADA President, Vinkesh Gulati said, “Automobile retail sales for the month of November continued to remain in negative zone despite Diwali as well as marriage season in the same month. The unwanted torrential rains in the southern states of the country further spoiled the party.”
He further said: “Unless rural India starts showing strong signs of strength and recovery, the overall automobile retail sales will continue to remain weak.”