Car sales in fast lane in July, two-wheeler segment hits speed bump

The passenger vehicle (PV) segment continued its robust run in July owing to strong demand, particularly for sport utility vehicles (SUVs). However, the two-wheeler segment hit a speed bump after posting growth in each of the previous three months.

The wholesale despatches of PVs jumped 2.6% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 350,149 units in July, according to data from the industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

As per our industry sources, the SUV sub-segment was the largest contributor to the PV segment with a share of nearly 49%.

The two-wheeler volumes slipped 7.2% y-o-y to 1,282,054 in July. The segment was in green in April, May and June.

The three-wheeler segment carried on with its strong run as the wholesale despatches increased 78.9% y-o-y to 56,034 units.

"Though the PV and three-wheeler segments are performing well, there has been a de-growth of two-wheelers in July 2023, compared to July 2022. Overall, we expect that the positive economic environment, good monsoons, and upcoming festive season will support continued growth in the auto industry," said Vinod Aggarwal, President, SIAM.

"The sale of PVs in July 2023 has been the highest ever in July, with a marginal growth of 2.6% compared to July 2022. Three-wheelers also posted a decent growth of 78.9% compared to the last year, which is the second-highest in the month of July, after the peak of 2018-19. However, after posting growth in each of the last three months in this financial year, the two-wheeler segment de-grew by 7.2% in July 2023, compared to last year," said Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM.

The quadricycle volumes climbed 122.6% y-o-y at 118 units in July.

Source - SIAM