Indian automobile sales, comprising passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, and two- and three-wheelers, in the calendar year 2019 declined by 13.77 percent year on year to 23.07 million units, the sharpest fall in the past 20 years, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).
According to the official data, passenger vehicles recorded a fall of 12.75 percent year on year to 2.96 million units in 2019, while two–wheeler sales were down 14.19 percent to 18.57 million units. Commercial vehicle sales during the period fell by 15 percent year on year to 854,759 units.
In December 2019, sales of passenger vehicles including cars, utility vehicles and vans were down 1.2 percent year on year to 235,786 units. Commercial vehicles sales during the month were down 12.23 percent to 66,662 units, while two-wheeler sales declined by 16.6 percent to 1.05 million units, both year on year.
“In passenger vehicle sales, the three-month rolling average indicates that the trend is reversing. Inquiries have started going up, but sentiments have not improved to a level where we can see growth in the immediate short term,” Rajan Wadhera, president of SIAM, said.