As the Diwlai celebrations kick off, the automotive industry is expected to see strong double-digit sales, especially in the two- and four-wheeler segments.
Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer – Sales & Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India told Financial Express Online, that the passenger vehicle market could see an uptick of around 20-21 percent.
“Last year during the course of the Diwali festival around 45,000 passenger vehicles were sold, including 19,000 Maruti Suzuki vehicles. This year we expect the industry volumes to be around 20 percent growth.”
Interestingly, most months this year have seen strong growth, including double-digit percentage in certain segments. While the percentage growth keeps varying, one has to keep in mind the high-base effect.
Manish Raj Singhania, President, Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) is quite optimistic about the festival season.
“The two-wheeler retail sales are expected to be in strong double digit upto 25 percent compared to Diwali festivities last year. The overall consumer sentiment is very positive and we expect that this will further pan out over the next few days. Passenger vehicle sales are also expected to be in a high single-digit percentage. The exact quantum of jump we will come to know over the course of the next few days,” he shares.
CarLelo (A Capri Loan Venture), a digital new car-buying platform claimed to have experienced a surge in sales with 150 new cars getting sold on Dhanteras alone.
In a recent analyst call, Rajesh Jejurikar, President – Auto & Farm, Mahindra & Mahindra revised his outlook for the tractor segment from a low single-digit growth to a flat growth in FY2024.
While the festival season has continued the positive momentum for the overall automotive industry, there could be some course correction in the coming months. Industry stakeholders believe that just looking at percentage growth may not offer an accurate representation due to the high-base effect.
