Total passenger vehicle (PV) wholesales (dispatches) in March rose by around five per cent year-on-year (YoY) to 2,92,030 units in the domestic market as compared with 2,79,525 units in the corresponding month last year.
The monthly data shared by Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Thursday indicated that passenger car wholesales declined by more than 11 per cent YoY to 1,22,133 units during the month as against 1,38,014 in March 2022.
However, the utility vehicle segment’s sales grew by more than 19 per cent YoY to 1,57,881 units during the month as against 1,32,073 units in the same month last year.
Two-wheeler jump
In the two-wheeler segment, total sales touched 12,90,553 units in March, a jump of around eight per cent YoY, as compared with 11,98,825 units in the same month last year.
While motorcycle sales were at 8,16,122 units (against 7,86,479 units in March 2022), scooter sales rose to 4,37,617 units (against 3,74,697 units) during the month.
Total vehicle wholesales last month stood at 16,37,048 units, a growth of around eight per cent from 15,10,534 units a year ago, SIAM data indicated.
For the financial year ended March 31, domestic wholesales of PVs were at 38,90,114 units, as compared to 30,69,523 units in the previous year. Two-wheeler wholesales also grew at 1,58,62,087 units during the month, as against 1,35,70,008 units in FY2021-22, SIAM said.
Total vehicles wholesales across categories were higher at 2,12,04,162 units in FY2022-23, as against 1,76,17,606 units in the previous financial year.
Commercial vehicles
“The last financial year has been a year of consolidation, post Covid. The year started again with supply chain disruptions from Ukraine conflict. However, with efficient management of supply chains and better availability of commodities, especially for the electronics items, prices have moderated over the year, though it remains a concern. Passenger vehicle segment posted the highest-ever domestic sales, surpassing the previous peak in 2018-19,” Vinod Aggarwal, President, SIAM said.
Commercial vehicles posted the second highest domestic sales, close to the previous peak of 2018-19. Inspite of good growth in domestic sales in three-wheelers, they are still below the 2010-11 levels, while two-wheelers domestic sales are below the 2014-15 levels, he said.
“Favourable policy initiatives ranging from impact of new PLI schemes, encouraging announcements in Budget, forward-looking logistic and foreign trade policies, and recently announced gas pricing guidelines would go a long way in supporting the growth of the Industry,” he added.