Auto Industry Experts Estimate Passenger Vehicle Sales To Cross 10 Lakh Mark In Festive Season This Year

Total passenger vehicle sales are estimated to be around 40 lakh units for the current fiscal year and the festive season is estimated to contribute sales of about 1 million units.

The below-average monsoon prediction for August is a major concern, as this will affect crop yields, in turn negatively affecting the purchasing sentiment and capability of rural consumers. 

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Carmakers estimate the domestic passenger vehicle sales to cross the 10 lakh mark in the upcoming festive period in the year on account of strong demand, specially for utility vehicles. The festive period this year falls between August 17 and November 14 and will last for about 68 days, with some days in between considered inauspicious for purchasing. 

Maruti Suzuki India’s senior executive officer (marketing and sales) Shashank Srivastava noted in a conversation with PTI that the sales in the festive season contribute about 22-26 per cent of the total sales during the year. He stated that total passenger vehicle sales are estimated to be around 40 lakh units for the current fiscal year and the festive season is estimated to contribute sales of about 1 million units.

Commenting on the strong sales the industry witnessed in the year so far, Srivastava said, “We have seen the best ever April, May, June, and July in terms of sales this fiscal. July witnessed the second-highest sales ever in a month at around 3.52 lakh units. August is also expected to be in the range of 3.5 lakh units. Demand parameters continue to be robust and the only two issues which need to be kept a close vigil on is the way monsoon performs between August and September.” He added that the surge in rates of vehicle loans is also a concern as about 83 per cent of consumers buy cars with the help of loans.

Talking about Maruti Suzuki India’s sales projections, he noted that festive season sales contribute about 22-25 per cent of the total yearly sales for the company. “As we are particularly strong in smaller centres where people follow the festive period more keenly, our performance is usually slightly better than the rest of the players,” he added. 

Srivastava expects the latest models launched by Maruti Suzuki to contribute positively to sales. The report noted that the carmaker currently controls 43 per cent of the market share in the total passenger vehicle segment in the country.

Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Managing Director Shailesh Chandra agreed with the general sentiment and stated, “We all expect that the festive season is going to be really good...the demand has remained very strong and it is at a sustainable level for multiple quarters. So we, therefore, are pretty confident about the period,” as cited in the report. 

While the automobile dealers’ body FADA agreed that in hopes of a successful festive season, the inventory level in the segment breached the 50-day mark, it expressed concern over the slump in entry-level cars. It further noted that the below-average monsoon prediction for August is a major concern, as this will affect crop yields, in turn negatively affecting the purchasing sentiment and capability of rural consumers.