Passenger Vehicle Sales In 2019 See Biggest Fall In 20 Years

Passenger vehicle sales in the domestic market fell by 12.75 percent, the sharpest fall seen in over 20 years, to 2,962,052 units in 2019. Data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed that commercial vehicle sales last year fell by 15 percent to 854,759 units.

Sales of two-wheeler vehicles declined 14.19 percent in the same period to 18,568,280 units while sales of scooters dropped 16.03 percent to 5,841,259 units and those of motorcycles fell by 12.92 percent to 12,012,896 units.

Across categories, automobile sales dropped 13.77 percent to 23,073,438 units last year.

Apart from fall in retail demand due to slowing economic activity and tight lending norms, manufacturers also cut production to trim the inventory of BS-IV-compliant variants ahead of 1 April 2020, when BS-VI emission norms become effective. Consumers are also confused over the compliance norms as the government is also trying to push sales of electric vehicles.

In utility vehicles segment, however, a 30 percent year-on-year growth in sales was recorded for December at 85,252 units, thanks to multiple product launches by brands.