Carmakers pare dispatches ahead of festival season
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. As the festival season approaches, Indian passenger vehicle makers (PV) are cautiously optimistic despite a backdrop of declining wholesale dispatches, as well as lower retail sales in September on account of an inauspicious Shraadh period taking up the second half of the month. While passenger vehicle registrations declined 5% in September on a year-on-year basis, wholesales too moderated to account for swelling inventories at dealerships.
Maruti Suzuki, the country's largest carmaker, clocked a 148,061 units in wholesale dispatches in September, 3.3% lower than the same month last year. “We are focused on calibrating our dispatches to dealers and anticipate a surge in consumer demand during the festive period because our bookings and enquiries are nearly at the same level in September as last year, despite the shraadh period beginning in the middle of September this time," Partho Banerjee, senior executive director, Maruti Suzuki, said. However, homegrown carmaker Tata Motors said declining retail sales reflected pale consumer demand.
“The PV industry in Q2 FY25 saw more than a 5% decline in retails driven by slow consumer demand and seasonal factors. However, industry offtake has been higher than registrations in anticipation of a strong festive season," Shailesh Chandra, managing director, Tata Motors' passenger vehicle business, said. The sentiment reflects a broader industry trend as manufacturers pin hopes on a potential sales rebound during the festivities.
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