Car sales plunge by 25 pc in June

Domestic passenger vehicle sales dropped by 17.54 per cent to 2.25 lakh units in June from 2.73 lakh units in the same month of previous year, data released on Wednesday by an apex industry body showed.

Domestic car sales were down 24.9 per cent to 1.39 lakh units as against 1.83 lakh units in June 2018, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Motorcycle sales declined 9.57 per cent to 10.84 lakh units as against 11.99 lakh units a year earlier.

Two-wheeler sales in June declined 11.69 per cent to 16.49 lakh units compared to 18.67 lakh units in the year-ago month.

On the other hand, sales of commercial vehicles were down 12.27 per cent to 70,771 units in June against 80,670 units in the same period a year ago.

SIAM said vehicle sales across categories marked a decline of 12.34 per cent to 19.97 lakh units from 22.79 lakh units in June 2018.

In the April-June period, passenger vehicle sales declined 18.42 per cent to 7.12 lakh units compared to 8.73 lakh units in the year-on period.

Vehicle sales across all categories declined by 12.35 per cent to 60.85 lakh units in the April to June period against 69.42 units in the same period of last year.

Experts say weak auto sales are largely due to a severe liquidity crunch in the non-banking financial sector.

Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters.