Festive season brings joy to passenger car retail sales
The 2020 festive season has been a lucrative one for the auto industry, as per the sales data for November 2020 from FADA. Retail sales of passenger vehicles grew by 29.32 per cent over October 2020 to 2,91,001 units and was also a 4.19 per cent growth over November 2019. The sales uptick was even better in the 42 day festive period where sales were at a 13.6 per cent increase over 2019 with 4,31,597 sold.
The dealer body says that this turn of sales has come with a strong demand for personal mobility as a precaution against COVID19, and the good showing of the compact SUV segment buoyed along by a spate of launches. While sales were slow in the initial Navratri period of the festive season, things picked up during the Dhanteras to Diwali phase. FADA, however, predicts that with pent-up demand now fulfilled, year-end discounts will be needed to keep the momentum going for new car purchases. The body also commented that inventory levels of passenger vehicles are now close to its recommended 21 days with the average currently being 25 to 30 days.
Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai continue to dominate proceedings in the passenger car market, holding a 49.33 per cent and 16.21 per cent share respectively. But Tata Motors seems to have seen the biggest sales jump in the past year, now the third-largest carmaker in India with a 7.5 per cent market share, up from 4.84 per cent. Kia Motors India continues to be similarly successful, with a jump to 6.28 per cent from 3.78 per cent last year. In the luxury segment, Mercedes-Benz and BMW remain the two largest. Mercedes sold 865 cars edging past BMW's 728.
