Automobile Sector Sales Decline By 18% drop In FY20: SIAM

The Indian automobile sector reported an 18 per cent decline in sales in FY-20 while production during the period dipped by 15 per cent, according to the figures released by SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers). 

March 2020

Production: The industry produced a total 1,447,345 vehicles including Passenger Vehicles, Commercial Vehicles, Three Wheelers, Two Wheelers and Quadricycle in March 2020, as against 2,180,203 in March 2019 with a degrowth of (-) 33.61%.

Domestic Sales :

• Passenger Vehicles sales was 143,014 units in March 2020, compared to 291,861 units in March 2019 marking a decrease by (-) 51%.
• Commercial Vehicles sales was 13,027 units in March 2020 compared to 109,022 units in March 2019 marking a decrease by (-) 88.05%.
• Three-wheeler sales was 27,608 units in March 2020 compared to 66,274 units in March 2019 marking a decrease by (-) 58.34%.
• Two-wheeler sales was 866,849 units in March 2020, compared to 1,440,593 units in March 2019 marking a decrease by (-) 39.83%.

April 2019 - March 2020

Production: The industry produced a total 26,362,284 vehicles including Passenger Vehicles, Commercial Vehicles, Three Wheelers, Two Wheelers and Quadricycle in April-March 2020 as against 30,914,874 in April-March 2019 with a decline of (-)14.73%

Domestic Sales:

• Passenger Vehicles sales was 2,775,679 units in April-March 2020, compared to 3,377,389 units in April-March 2019, down by (-)17.82%.
• Commercial Vehicles sales was 717,688 units in April-March 2020 compared to 1,007,311 units in April- March 2019, down by (-) 28.75%.
• Three-wheeler sales was 636,569 units in April-March 2020 compared to 701,005 units in April-March 2019, down by (-) 9.19%.
• Two-wheeler sales was 17,417,616 units in April-March 2020, compared to 21,179,847 units in April- March 2019, down by (-)17.76%

Commenting on the March data, Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM stated “Automobile industry witnessed one of its sharpest decline in Domestic Sales in March 2020 due to subdued demand and consumer sentiments which was further aggravated by the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.”

Rajan Wadhera, President, SIAM, stated “The month of March 2020 was one of the most challenging months for the Auto sector as the 21-day lockdown resulted in bringing the production and sales of vehicles to a standstill in the last week. As the revenues took severe hit, the OEMs struggled on meeting fixed cost and working capital requirements.

The industry was already reeling under severe degrowth and the pressure of disrupted supply chain,  which was followed by a  majority of the auto companies announcing a shutdown of their manufacturing units in the last week of March 2020, due to concerns over ensuring workplace safety & health of their employees.  As per our estimates at SIAM, Auto industry is losing Rs 2,300 crore in production turnover for every day of closure.

The  Auto  Industry is engaged in a  dialogue with the  Government  of  India on policy measures which could minimize the impact of COVID on the Indian Economy and especially the Indian Automobile Industry. There would be challenges on the supply side ; demand-side and also on the issue of availability of Finance which would all need to be addressed to bring back growth in the Sector. We remain steadfast on “Building the nation responsibly.”