Nearly 30 new car, 20 two-wheeler launches lined up till March 2020

Rise of the millennial population, increasing disposable income and availability of innovative mobility solutions will drive the market.

Passenger vehicle (PV) and two-wheeler sales in the country have been bleak in the past few months, despite inquiries being good, due to poor consumer sentiment. To create excitement among consumers, especially during festivals, car manufacturers have lined up around 25-30 launches and two-wheeler makers have lined up another 20 between August 2019 and March 2020. The new launches include electric and hybrid vehicles.

On an average, car makers, excluding luxury ones, invest around Rs 1,500-2,000 crore to launch a new car.

Two-wheeler and PV retail sales dropped by five per cent and 4.6 per cent, respectively, in June 2019, compared to last year.

CARE Ratings says that demand might remain muted till the second quarter before it starts picking up from the third quarter due to festival and pre-buying before BS-VI implementation from April 1, 2020. Also, with higher MSPs announced, farm income is expected to be marginally higher and encourage rural spending.

To cash in on this, car makers have lined up nearly 25-30 new launches. Some of them include Maruti Suzuki Ertiga Cross and S-Presso, Hyundai New Grand i10, Tucson Facelift and Hyundai New Elite i20. Honda would be launching Honda HR-V and New City, while Tata would introduce the Buzzard and Altroz. Skoda expects to launch Karoq, and Renault to launch Renault Triber and Kwid Facelift.

Vikas Jain, national sales head, Hyundai Motor India Ltd, said that sometimes, a slowdown in the market is a cyclical phenomenon. Due to practical challenges such as volatility in fuel prices, high interest rates and increase in insurance premium, some of the buyers are deferring their purchase decision.

The long-term outlook is good considering that the penetration of PVs in India is still very low at around 20 out of 1,000 people. The rise of the young millennial population, increasing disposable income and availability of innovative mobility solutions will drive the market.

Business Standard

Jan PV sales slide for 3rd straight month as manufacturers reduce inventory

Domestic car sales were also down for the third consecutive month, declining 2.65 per cent to 179,389 units.

Article Source BS : Domestic passenger vehicle (PV) sales declined for the third month in a row in January, dropping 1.87 per cent, as manufacturers continued to reduce inventory at dealers following a tepid festive season sales, according to SIAM.

As per data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) Friday, PV sales in January stood at 2,80,125 units last month as against 2,85,467 units in the same month last year.

Domestic car sales were also down for the third consecutive month, declining 2.65 per cent to 179,389 units as compared to 1,84,264 units in January 2018.

"Stock correction by manufacturers continued in January to cut inventory that were piled up during the festive period, which saw sluggish sales," SIAM Deputy Director General Sugato Sen told PTI.

He, however, said retail sale was better than wholesale in January, and the industry expects demand to grow in the remaining two months of the fiscal.

During the month, market leader Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) posted a marginal growth of 0.18 per cent in its PV sales at 1,39,440 units. Rival Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) also posted 0.65 growth at 45,803 units.

Similarly, homegrown utility vehicles major Mahindra & Mahindra also saw 0.88 per cent rise in its PV sales at 23,864 units last month.

In passenger cars segment, MSI's sales stood at 1,01,865 units, down 4.12 per cent. HMIL's car sales was also down 1.58 per cent at 35,439 units last month. Honda Cars India, however, saw its car sales grow 51.67 per cent to 14,383 units.

In the two-wheeler segment, SIAM said total sales in January were down 5.18 per cent to 15,97,572 units compared to 16,84,761 units in the year-ago month.

Motorcycle sales last month declined 2.55 per cent to 10,27,810 units as against 10,54,757 units in the same month a year ago.

Market leader Hero MotoCorp's bike sales last month was down 4.95 per cent at 5,16,451 units. Rival Bajaj Auto, however, posted growth of 24.67 per cent at 2,03,358 units last month. Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India's bike sales stood at 1,28,525 units, down 24.19 per cent.

Total scooter sales last month declined by 10.21 per cent at 4,97,169 units as against 5,53,695 units in January last year, SIAM said.

Market leader HMSI's scooter sales were at 2,72,170 units, down 14.77 per cent. Chennai-based TVS Motor Co also saw its scooter sales dip by 0.41 per cent at 83,794 units.

Suzuki Motorycle India, however, witnessed a 60.28 per cent jump in it scooter sales at 61,348 units last month.

SIAM said sales of commercial vehicles were up 2.21 per cent to 87,591 units in January.