Auto retail sales see decline of 5% in December

Retail auto sales for the month of December witnessed a five per cent year-on-year decline after two straight months of robust growth. Last month, the industry saw 16,22,317 units sold as against 17,14,942 units sold in December of 2021, as per data released by The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA).

Of the total sales, 11,33,138 units were of two-wheelers as against 12,75,894 2 in December of 2021, registering a decrease of 11 per cent. Except for two-wheelers, all other categories were in the green with three-wheeler, passenger vehicle (PV) Tractor and Commercial Vehicle (CV) growing by 42 percent, 8 percent, 5 percent, and 11 percent, respectively.

For the calendar year of 2022, total vehicle retails grew by 15 per cent YoY, 17 per cent when compared to 2020 but saw a decline of 10 per cent from the pre-covid year of 2019.

The retail sales in the month of December went into a lull after two super months of October and November, which witnessed adrenaline rush in the entire auto industry," as per FADA President Manish Raj Singhania. He added that the two-wheeler segment once again failed to impress as retail sales continued to fall after two good months.

Due to reasons such as rise in inflation, increased cost of ownership, rural market yet to pick up fully and increased EV sales, the ICE two-wheeler segment is yet to see any green shoots.

Commenting on the near-term outlook of the auto industry, Singhania said that global geopolitical headwinds, tightening monetary policy, and the lingering effect of the pandemic have combined to create a gloomy global outlook. However, FADA remains cautious during January-March 2023.