Domestic car sales growth flat in April due to muted demand
Passenger vehicle sales in India kicked off on a flat note in new fiscal 2024-25 with 3.38 lakh units sold in April, impacted by high base effect and muted demand due to the ongoing general elections.
Dispatches of passenger vehicles from manufacturers to dealers were at 338,341 units in April 2024 as compared to 332,468 units in the same month last year, a growth of 1.77% with major players Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai and Tata Motors reporting marginal growth in their domestic wholesales.
The flat growth witnessed in April is due to the high base that the industry had last year, coupled with the impact of ongoing general elections, Maruti Suzuki India senior executive officer, Marketing & Sales, Partho Banerjee told reporters in a virtual interaction.“We have started on a very high base this year...Right now the country is going through elections and there is a model code of conduct...During the elections the markets are a little muted. Once elections are over, I think we will be seeing a different market,” he said.
He further said, “Till the month of June I think things will be more or less like this and after June maybe we will see revival in the market.”Maruti Suzuki’s total domestic passenger vehicle sales were 137,952 units compared to 137,320 units in the year-ago period.Similarly, Hyundai Motor India’s domestic wholesales saw an increase of 1 % to 50,201 units last month from 49,701 units in the year-ago period.
Hyundai Motor India COO Tarun Garg said the PV industry’s growth seen in April was a reflection of what was estimated in beginning of 2024 of about an overall low singledigit growth.
“It is more because of the high base effect of the last two years and not necessarily a slowdown,” he said in a virtual interaction, adding the inquiry levels and booking were at similar levels to the last year.
With the improvement in the supply chain, the overall order book of the industry has reduced, Garg said.
The prediction of a normal monsoon augurs well, specially from a rural sales perspective which has also been accelerated by the rapid development in road infrastructure and rising aspirations of the consumers there, he added.
Tata Motors reported a 2 % increase in total domestic PV sales, including electric vehicles at 47,883 units last month as compared to 47,007 units in April 2023.