NEW DELHI: The opening of the automobile market after the Covid-19 pandemic has witnessed a ‘booking boom’ for manufacturers in India. Many popular models are on a waiting list running into months. Till the middle of last month, pending deliveries touched 760,000 units.
Among car models featuring in the long waiting list are Hyundai Creta, Toyota Hyryder, Maruti Suzuki’s Baleno, Brezza, and Grand Vitara, Tata’s Nexon and Punch.
Commenting on the February 2023 overall sales data, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) President Vinod Aggarwal said, “Overall positive sentiment in the market continues, which is also driven by encouraging announcements in the Union Budget for consumers. The Auto Industry is fully geared up for transition to Phase 2 of BS-6 emission norms for all categories of vehicles from next month. Hike in repo rates, which would result in higher cost of borrowings, remains a concern and we hope that the rates would get moderated suitably. Moderation of CNG Fuel Prices is also important for expanding the footprint of gas based mobility which is critical for sustainable mobility.”
According to SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon, “Passenger vehicles posted their highest ever sales of February and the three-wheeler segment posted appreciable growth this month, compared to last two years. The two-wheeler segment posted a moderate growth of 8 per cent in February 2023, compared to February 2022. In the period April – February, two and three-wheelers are yet to reach the pre-Covid levels, though it is the highest ever for the passenger vehicles.”
Figures provided by the SIAM put the total production of passenger vehicles (barring BMW, Mercedes, Tata Motors, and Volvo Auto data), three wheelers, two wheelers and quadricycles in February 2023 at 17,54,922 units.
Domestic sales for passenger vehicles (except BMW, Mercedes, Tata Motors, and Volvo Auto) stood at 291,928 units in February 2023.
