The commercial vehicle sales saw a slowdown in February, registering a decline of 0.7 percent on YoY basis, but a sequential growth of 5.1 percent says ICRA.
It primarily attributes the muted growth to the slowdown in construction activity ahead of the implementation of the model code of conduct for General Elections. And also, the broader base effect catching up.
The retail volumes, on the other hand, showed 4.8% YoY growth while reporting a marginal 0.9% sequential decline in February 2024.
During the 11-month period of FY2024 (April 2023-February 2024), the domestic CV wholesale volumes registered a YoY growth of 2.1 percent as healthy infrastructure spending by the government during H1 FY2024 was offset by a slowing down of construction activity during the rest of the period.
“Despite the expected slowdown in Q4 FY2024 due to the high base effect of Q4 FY2023 (aided by pre-buying prior to implementation of BS 6.2 norms with effect from April 01, 2023) and the pause in infrastructure activities, ICRA estimates remain unchanged with the domestic CV wholesale volumes expected to grow by 2-5% in FY2024. Further, ICRA expects the domestic CV industry’s sharp upcycle to plateau in FY2025, with a marginal decline of 4-7% in volumes,” said Kinjal Shah, Vice President & Co-Group Head, Corporate Ratings, ICRA.
