Auto wholesales down nearly 19% in January: SIAM

Wholesale dispatches of automobiles declined nearly 19% year-on-year in January as factors such as third wave of the pandemic, semiconductor shortages and lower rural demand kept passenger vehicle and two wheeler sales subdued, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

According to the data released by the industry body, overall vehicle wholesale dispatches fell to about 14.06 lakh last month from over 17.33 lakh units in January 2021, down 18.8%.

Sales of passenger vehicles fell to about 2.54 lakh units as against over 2.76 lakh units in the year ago month, a decline of 8%. In the passenger vehicle segment, passenger car sales were lower by 17.3% at about 1.26 lakh units, sales of utility vehicles were higher by 4.9% at nearly 1.17 lakh units and sales of vans fell 10,632 units from 11,816 units.

Two-wheeler sales too plummeted 21% to about 11.28 lakh units last month compared to sales of over 14.29 lakh units in January 2021. Similarly, sales of three-wheelers also fell 10% to 24,091 units.

“Sales in the month of January 2022 again declined compared to January 2021, due to both Omicron related concerns and Semiconductor shortages. There is clearly a demand issue for two-Wheelers due to lower rural off-take of entry level models,” Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM said.

He added that three-wheelers continue to be severely affected due to lower sales, while the passenger vehicle segment is unable to meet the market demand due to supply side challenges resulting in sales in January 2022 being even lower than January 2021.