India's passenger vehicles sales jumped to 38,90,114 units in the financial year ended March 2023, registering year-on-year growth of 26.7 per cent led by strong demands for sports utility vehicles (SUVs) ahead of the implementation of new fuel emission norms that came into force from 1st of April.
In March, the last month of FY 2022-23, passenger vehicles sales increased to 2,92,030 units, which is 4.7 per cent higher when compared with the same month last year, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) data showed.
“Passenger vehicle segment posted the highest ever domestic sales surpassing the previous peak in 2018-19,” said Vinod Aggarwal, President, SIAM.
The overall automobile domestic sales in India increased by 20 per cent year-on-year to 2,59,31,867 units in 2022-23. SIAM data shows wholesale figures. It records sales to dealers.
Aggarwal said SUVs accounted for more than half of the total passenger vehicle sales during the year. It was “much higher than expected,” he said.
Improved chip supply and strong buying ahead of implementation of new fuel emission norms led the growth in passenger vehicle sales. BS6 phase-2 emission norms have been enforced in India from 1st of April 2023. The new norms require the ICE vehicles to be compliant with RDE (real driving emission) standards.
While there was a surge in the sales of SUVs, entry-level vehicles witnessed sluggish sales. The total number of small entry-level cars sales stood at around 252,000 units in FY 2022-23, which is less than half of 5,83,000 units sold in 2016-17.
Commercial vehicles sales surged by 34 per cent to 9,62,468 units in 2022-23. The domestic sales of commercial vehicles in India during the financial year ended March 2023 was the second highest after 2018-19.
Three-wheeler sales increased by 87 per cent to 4,88,768 units. In spite of good growth in domestic sales in three-wheelers, they are still below the 2010-11 levels.
Two-wheeler sales rose to 1,58,62,087 units in 2022-23. The two-wheeler segment grew by a moderate 17 per cent year-on-year in 2022-23 after witnessing de-growth for the previous three consecutive years.
“These segments are yet to reach the pre-pandemic levels,” said Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM.
Three-wheelers sales in 2022-23 was below the 2010-11 levels, while two-wheelers domestic sales during the year ended March 2023 were below the 2014-15 levels.
SIAM President expressed hope that auto sales during the current fiscal would remain healthy.
“Favourable Policy initiatives ranging from impact of new PLI schemes, encouraging announcements in budget, forward looking logistic and foreign trade policies and recently announced gas pricing guidelines would go a long way in supporting the growth of the Industry,” Aggarwal said.