Passenger vehicle wholesales down 3.8%; two-wheelers up 15% in April: SIAM

Passenger vehicle dispatches to the dealers by manufacturers fell 3.84% in April to 251,581 units amid ongoing supply-related challenges, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said on Wednesday.

As per the data released by the industry body, domestic wholesales of passenger vehicles were down 3.84% from 261,633 units in April 2021. Within the passenger vehicle segment, car sales were down 20% to 112,857 units from 141,194 units in the year ago period, while sales of vans was almost flat at 11,511 units. Wholesales of utility vehicles, however, was up nearly 17% to 127,213 units from 108,871 units in April 2021.

Passenger vehicle sales does not include data from BMW, Mercedes, Tata Motors and Volvo Auto.

The data showed that two-wheeler sales were up 15% to 1,148,696 units in April 2022, as against 995,115 units in the year ago period. While sales of scooters jumped 24% to 374,556 units from 301,279 units in April 2021, wholesales of motorcycles grew 10% to 735,360 units as against 667,859 units in the year-ago month.

Wholesales of three grew to 20,938 units, up from 13,856 units in April 2021.

“Sales of Passenger Vehicles is still below the April 2017 figures, while Two Wheelers are even below the April 2012 figures. Three-Wheelers are yet to reach normal levels, as sales are still less than 50% of April 2016 figures,” Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM said.

Mr. Menon added that manufacturers are working hard to manage the supplier ecosystem with agility and flexibility, as supply side challenges continue for the industry. “Further, manufacturers are also monitoring the likely impact on demand, due to the recent hike in repo-rates, as it would increase the lending rates to the customers,” he said.

Overall, automobile wholesales across categories stood at 1,421,241 units last month, up nearly 12% from 1,270,604 in April 2021.