Passenger vehicle (PV) sales for the 2018-19 financial year saw sales stagnate as the domestic volumes grew by just 2.7 per cent, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Domestic passenger vehicle sales stood at 33,77,436 units in 2018-19, as opposed to 32,88,581 units sold in 2017-18. Overall PV sales stood at 40,26,047 units, growing by a bare minimum of 0.14 per cent, over 40,20,267 units sold during FY2017-18. The Indian auto sector faced trying times in the previous fiscal as sales were halted due to weak customer sentiment led by the liquidity crunch, high vehicle prices due to change in insurance norms and uncertainty over upcoming elections that stagnated the sales growth for the year.
The second half of the year is when sales took a bit despite the festive season and a substantial number of new launches. The dramatic change in the market sentiment prompted the industry body to lower its sales forecast from 8-10 per cent to 6 per cent. However, the final growth of 2.7 per cent is even lower than the corrected estimations.
Car sales for the FY2018-19 stood at 27,10,057 units, declining by 1.33 per cent, over 27,46,658 units sold during the previous fiscal 2017-18. Domestic car sales in 2018-19 though stood at 22,18,549 units, as against 21,74,024 units in 2017-18, a growth of 2.05 per cent.
Utility vehicle volumes saw a marginal hike of 0.48 per cent, growing to 10,98,578 units from 10,93,346 units. Domestic UV sales stood at 941,461 units during the previous fiscal as against 922,322 units in 2017-18, growing by 2.08 per cent.
Exports though saw a sharp decline in volumes with 676,193 units shipped in 2018-19, a drop of 9.64 per cent with 748,366 units exported in 2017-18.
For the 2019-20 financial year, the Indian auto sector is expected to still witness a number of challenges including the upcoming general elections in the first quarter of the fiscal followed by the shift to BS6 norms. SIAM expects passenger vehicle sales to increase by 3-5 per cent during the current financial year, backed by the pre-buying sentiment ahead of the BS6 upgrade.
