Vehicle sales in India are on a strong growth curve in the new financial year, according to numbers released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers or SIAM — the apex body of automakers in India.
A total of 53.79 lakh vehicles were produced in the two months, 15.16% higher than the 46.71 lakh vehicles produced in April-May 2017. The actual sales numbers are not revealed.
CV
Sales of commercial vehicles — trucks, pick-ups and buses — rose by a whopping 57.44% in the first two months of this year (April-May) compared to the same period last year, the society said. Part of the reason was a dip in the early part of last year due to the switch over from BS III fuel standard to BS IV.
Within the CV segment, the strongest increase was seen in Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicles (M&HCVs), which was up 114.79 percent, while the Light Commercial Vehicle market saw sales growth of 34.27 percent.
The numbers include sales of companies such as Mahindra & Mahindra, Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors.
PASSENGER
The sale of passenger vehicles grew by 13.28 percent.
Here too, there were differences between cars and SUVs. While car sales rose 11.77 percent, SUV sales were up 14.71 percent and vans improved their numbers by 24.11 percent.
OTHERS
Three Wheeler sales increased by 53.01 percent in April-May 2018 over the same period last year. Within three-wheelers, passenger carriers (auto-rickshaws) registered a growth of 64.31 percent, while goods grew by 19.34 percent.
Two Wheelers sales registered a growth at 13.04 percent, led by motorcycles that grew by 17.24 percent. Scooter sales were higher by 5.76 percent, while mopeds improved their numbers by 9.82 percent.
EXPORTS
Overall exports were up 24 percent, with passenger vehicle exports falling by 6.45 percent.
Commercial Vehicles, Three Wheelers and Two Wheelers registered a growth of 33.02 percent, 79.12 percent and 25.18 percent respectively.