Low base helps hoist June retail vehicle sales by 22.6%

FADA says pent-up demand spurs deliveries to 12 lakh units

Fuelled by pent-up demand and aided by a low base, total retail sales of vehicles rose 22.6% from a year earlier to more than 12.1 lakh units in June 2021, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said. However, registrations were still about 28% lower when compared with the pre-pandemic June 2019 figure of more than 16.98 lakh units.

On a year-on-year basis, all vehicle categories saw growth in sales last month led by commercial vehicles (CVs), which more than tripled to 35,700 units. The non-availability of BS-6 vehicles, combined with the pandemic impact, had to extremely low deliveries in June 2020. Passenger vehicle (PV) sales jumped 43.5% to about 1.84 lakh units, three-wheelers increased almost 22% to 14,732 units, two-wheeler registrations rose almost 17% to 9.3 lakh units and tractor deliveries were 14.3% higher at 52,261.

“The month of June witnessed reopening for most of the States except the ones in the South… the industry witnessed a high pent up demand,” said FADA President Vinkesh Gulati. “Two-wheelers, though in green, have witnessed a softer recovery as rural market is taking time to get back from post-COVID stress,” he added.

The industry was, however, still not out of the woods with tractors the only category that had posted growth over June 2019, he noted.

The auto dealers’ body said it expects positive momentum to continue in July and demand to further pick up, especially as markets in southern India open up.

“Continued global semiconductor shortage is creating demand-supply mismatch and restricting the growth of PVs,” FADA said. “Further, while the new virus mutants and a prediction of a third wave in August are affecting sentiments, the revival of monsoons in July, after a pause of two weeks, and a better vaccination drive rate continues to build some hope,” it added.

It added that the sector is in a wait and watch mode to see how the overall economy shapes up over the next couple of months. “We see demand to be a mixed bag and hope that recovery is back on track by the time Navratri and Diwali knock at our door,” FADA said.

Source: Read Full Article