Domestic wholesale sales of passenger vehicles and two-wheelers grows for the fourth consecutive month in November

After a subdued halt in April due to the lockdown measures, domestic wholesale sales of passenger vehicles and two-wheelers increased for the fourth consecutive month in November.

Dispatches of passenger vehicles increased by 12.73 per cent y-o-y to 2,85,367 units as demand for compact cars and entry sport utility vehicles continued to rise in the rural, semi-urban and some part of the urban markets, a data released by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has showed.

Indicating a sustained increase in demand in urban areas, dispatches of utility vehicles grew by 17.16 per cent y-o-y to 1,03,525 units as companies like Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Hyundai Motor India Ltd and Kia Motors India Ltd increased wholesale of their respective sport utility vehicles to meet rising demand.

Factory dispatches of passenger cars during the period also reported a rebound with a growth of 10.5 per cent y-o-y to 1,70,418 units.

The growth in dispatches comes as a result of low base in the corresponding period when automakers witnessed contraction in consumer demand as a consequence of the economic slowdown and increase in vehicle prices due to change in emission and safety norms.

In the two-wheeler segment, scooter sales increased marginally by 9.29  per cent to 5,02,561 units while motorcycles sales grew by 14.9 per cent  y-o-y to 10,26,705 units as demand for entry and executive segment motorcycles recovered in the rural and semi-urban markets. Overall, two-wheeler sales jumped by 13.4 per cent to 16,00,379 units.

Sales of two wheelers have picked up faster compared to the other segments due to quicker recovery in demand in the rural and semi-urban areas compared to the metro and tier one cities. A good summer crop, decent monsoon and comparatively less spread of Covid-19 infection have aided the recovery in rural markets.