Passenger vehicle sales rise 23% in Dec quarter

Passenger vehicle wholesales rose 23 per cent year-on-year in the December 2022 quarter, aided by robust demand in the festive period, the automobile industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said on Friday.

The total passenger vehicle dispatches from the companies to dealers in the third quarter rose to 934,955 units compared to 761,124 units in the same period of the previous financial year.

In December, passenger vehicle sales witnessed an increase of 7 per cent at 235,309 units against 219,421 units in the year-ago month.

Commenting on the three-month sales data, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) director general Rajesh Menon said segments like commercial vehicles, three-wheelers and two-wheelers have also witnessed an increase in wholesales during the period under review.

"Festive season has helped in returning good sales numbers for all the segments.

"However, weakness in rural demand continues, as high food inflation and increased financing cost is impacting the rural market," he noted.

The total commercial vehicles increased by 17 per cent year-on-year to 227,111 units in the third quarter, while two-wheelers saw an increase of 6 per cent at 38,59,030 units.

Similarly, three-wheeler dispatches rose to 138,511 units from 82,547 units in the October-December period of last fiscal.

The total sales during the quarter increased to 51,59,758 units from 46,68,562 units in the year-ago period.

Commenting on the wholesales in the calendar year 2022, SIAM president Vinod Aggarwal said passenger vehicles have reported the highest-ever sales of 3.8 million units, which is about four lakh units higher than the last peak in 2018.

Similarly, commercial vehicles reported sales of 9.3 lakh units, which is just about 72,000 units lower than the earlier peak in 2018, he added.

However, three-wheeler sales are still lower than in 2010 sales and two-wheeler dispatches are lower than in 2014, Aggarwal said.

Compared to the last calendar year, growth in commercial vehicles has been noteworthy, while the two-wheeler wholesales have grown at a much slower pace in this calendar year compared to the other categories of vehicles, he said.

In December, the total two-wheeler sales rose marginally to 10,45,052 units from 10,15,942 units in the same month last year.