Image Source: THE WIRE

Domestic passenger vehicles sales declined by nearly 50% in June 2020, compared with an equivalent month last year, in keeping with latest data made public by industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Sales were at 1.05 lakh units in June, 49.59% down compared to the 2.09 lakh units sold in June 2019. The data, which is not overly encouraging, is significant as it is for June, which is perhaps the first month of meaningful economic activity since the nationwide lockdown was imposed in late March to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales of two wheelers, a metric often seen as measuring the health of India�s rural economy, fell 39%, the auto industry body said. This includes scooter sales (down by 47.37% on a year-on-year basis) and motorcycles (which fell by 35.19% to 7.92 lakh units in June). According to SIAM data, total exports of passenger vehicles, three-wheelers and two-wheelers witnessed a decrease of 56.31%, 34.98% and 34.25% respectively in June.

�Inordinate delays in clearance due to congestion at ports could eventually impact manufacturing of vehicles in India. The industry is piecing itself together as growth is limping back; any further disruption at this juncture is best avoided,� said Rajan Wadhera, president, SIAM, in a virtual conference on Tuesday morning. Wadhera further added that the industry had been suffering a �very deep slowdown�, led in part by COVID-19 now. �We are staring into a very deep slowdown, led by COVID-19 now. World-over, the auto industry has been supported in the form of stimulus to boost demand. We haven�t given up, and are speaking with the government, and are looking for a stimulus.�

India�s auto sector manufacturers and component makers put together contribute nearly 8% to India�s GDP � has struggled for run over a year now. A consumption slowdown, increased insurance costs and disruptions caused by pollution emission norms all hurt sales. Then from March onwards, the COVID-19 lockdown dealt a solid body blow � while the auto industry body failed to report April and should sales, the previous is known to possess been a whole washout in terms of domestic sales, and only a marginal uptick seen in May.