India's auto retail sales register 0.73% annual growth in June on the back of prolonged heatwave
auto retail sales in the month of June, owing to the delayed monsoon in certain parts of the country, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said on Friday.
While the two wheeler (2W) and three-wheeler (3W) segments saw a positive year-on-year (YoY) growth of 4.66 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively, passenger vehicles (PV), tractors and commercial vehicles (CV) sales declined 6.7 per cent, 28.3 per cent, and 4.7 per cent, respectively.
“June is traditionally one of the weakest months for India’s auto retail. This year, while the monsoon progressed normally up to Maharashtra, it lost momentum, delaying rains in West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh. This exacerbated the effects of a severe heatwave in northwest India, contributing to a prolonged hiatus that not only intensified the heatwave but also delayed the sowing operations of kharif (summer sown) crops in northern and north-western regions, thereby impacting rural sales," said Manish Raj Singhania, FADA President.
Despite a marginal increase in annual sales, the two-wheeler category saw a decline in month-on-month (MoM) sales of 10.36 per cent.
«Factors such as extreme heat which resulted in 13% less walk-in’s, stalled monsoons and election-related market slowdowns particularly affected rural sales, which fell from 59.8% in May to 58.6% in June,» Singhania said.
Moreover, PV and CV sales fell by 7.18 per cent and 12.42 per cent MoM, reflecting poor market sentiment.
«Inventory levels have reached an
