Auto demand stays steady in November
Demand for personal mobility remains strong in November as automakers continue to produce and dispatch vehicles at a healthy pace.
New Delhi: After a record festive season for sales of passenger vehicles and riding a strong double-digit recovery in two-wheeler sales, demand for personal mobility remained robust in November as automakers continued to produce and dispatch vehicles at a healthy pace.
While passenger vehicle production grew 3.9% in November year-on-year (y-o-y) at 335,354 units, the pace of growth was slower compared with October (15.9%) as retail demand soared ahead of production, monthly sales data reported by auto firms showed. Automakers have taken steps to manage high stock levels by rationalizing factory-gate dispatches ahead of the new year.
Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest passenger vehicle maker, said its domestic passenger vehicle wholesales last month improved 1.7% y-o-y, while for South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor India, the domestic market grew 3% over last year with wholesale at 49,451 units.
For Tata Motors, wholesales of passenger vehicles were 1% lower y-o-y in November, with a modest 7% increase in its EV sales. Mahindra & Mahindra, however, clocked a 32% growth in its utility vehicle wholesales in November, riding on an improvement in supplies and strong demand for SUVs in the market.
SUVs accounted for over 53% of all PVs delivered to dealers in November—the highest in a month. For Hyundai, SUVs comprised 68% of all its sales in November, in large part due to the introduction of its micro-hatch Exter and its refreshed portfolio.
Interestingly, more hybrids than electric cars were sold in November, the second straight month for the trend. “Hybrids accounted for 2.1% of the overall market and EVs were slightly lower at just under 2%,” Shashank Srivastava, senior executive director, Maruti Suzuki said, adding that customers are starting to see the value of hybrid cars vis-à-vis EVs in the form of lower upfront costs and low emissions, even as hybrid options expand.
“The industry’s stock levels, because of higher retail than wholesale this month, has come down a little bit from 335,000 to 330,200 units estimated at the end of November. However, at 30-35 days inventory, stocks in the channel were on the higher side and an area of concern,” Srivastava said, adding this will prompt lower wholesales in December.
“We did foresee that wholesales in November and December will taper off, which is being reflected. We are now looking at reducing stocks, so a 3% growth is along expected lines,” Tarun Garg, chief operating officer, Hyundai Motor India said. “However, at Hyundai, we are entering December with only three weeks of stock and going forward into January, we expect this to reduce to two weeks”, he added.
Two-wheeler sales, on the other hand, benefited from a low base of last year, an improvement in rural demand and wedding-season buying. All two-wheeler OEMs, including Bajaj Auto, Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India (HMSI) and TVS Motor Company saw strong wholesale and retail growth in November in the domestic market.
Bajaj Auto saw a 77% pick-up in its domestic motorcycle sales in November at 218,597 units, even as it suffered 7% lower exports y-o-y the same month. TVS Motor Co. saw 50% growth in its overall domestic two-wheeler sales (both motorcycles and scooters together), while HMSI saw 19% y-o-y improvement in its November domestic sales.
On the retail front, two-wheeler registrations were up 21% y-o-y (excluding electric scooters), while passenger vehicle retail was better than wholesales at 348,422 units registered in November against 284,660 units last year, a growth of 22.4%.
But given that the festive season concluded in October itself last year, retail figures in November are largely not comparable, as Diwali and Bhaidooj elongated the festive season this year to mid-November.
Meanwhile, a report by Icra said recovery of two-wheeler demand is uncertain for the near term, as the impact of uneven monsoons on farm incomes and cash flow will be key to sentiment.
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Business NewsAuto NewsAuto demand stays steady in November
First Published:1 Dec 2023, 11:55 PM IST
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