Domestic automobile retail sales rose 10 percent in June driven by sales growth across various segments, including passenger vehicles and two-wheelers, automobile dealers body FADA said.
Total retail sales last month rose to 18,63,868 units from 17,01,105 units in the year-ago period. Passenger vehicle retail sales increased 5 percent to 2,95,299 units as against 2,81,811 units in June 2022. Similarly, two-wheeler sales climbed 7 percent to 13,10,186 units last month as compared with 12,27,149 units in the same month last year.
Three-wheeler sales surged 75 percent to 86,511 units from 49,299 units in June last year. Tractor retail sales jumped 45 percent year-on-year to 98,660 units while there was a marginal rise in sales of commercial vehicles at 73,212 units from 72,894 units in June 2022. FADA President Manish Raj Singhania said while there is a 10 percent year-on-year growth, the auto retail sector has seen an 8-percent month-on-month dip, indicating a short-term deceleration in sales. “Despite some short-term contraction, India’s growth narrative remains resilient. The month of June registered all-time highs for three-wheeler, passenger vehicle, and tractor segments when compared to all the previous June months,” he added.
Retail sales of cars and bikes in India rose in June, an industry body said, while also flagging “demand-supply mismatches” that likely caused some disruption.
Sales of cars and vans – clubbed as passenger vehicles – rose 4.8% to more than 295,000 units – a record high for the month of June, while those of two-wheelers were up 6.8% at over 1.3 million units, data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) showed.
However, dealers selling cars have been impacted by a rise in inventory of some slow-moving cars and have noted “sporadic supplies of popular models,” FADA President Manish Raj Singhania said in a statement.
Retail sales could have been slightly higher if not for the limited supply of utility vehicles, said Himanshu Singh, Research Analyst at Prabhudas Lillader, adding that a component issue at Mahindra and Mahindra and a planned shutdown at Maruti Suzuki India curbed some volumes.
Retail PV sales were up 4.3% in May after a 1.4% fall in April, while wholesale numbers for May and April were up 13.5% and 12.9% respectively, pointing to an inventory buildup.
Dealers have been grappling with a rise in inventory of slow-moving entry-level cars in the past 3 months, as the supply of the more popular utility vehicles has been limited by chip shortages. Though overall sales numbers were up in June, Singhania said retail volumes for two-wheelers were hurt by supply constraints from some manufacturers. “New model introductions, festive promotions, and seasonal factors couldn’t markedly boost sales,” FADA said.
The industry body also warned that erratic monsoon rainfall in the country could affect sales of entry-level cars and two-wheelers in rural India as a weak agricultural season could lead to a reduction in disposable income.
