Buoyed by strong demand for SUVs, passenger vehicle wholesales rose 28% in Nov

The wholesales of passenger vehicles in India saw a rise of 28% year-on-year last month thanks to a robust demand for SUVs and cars, as per industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. Overall passenger vehicles dispatched from companies to dealers stood at 2,76,231 units last month as compared to 2,15,626 units in November 2021.

Wholesales of utility vehicles saw a rise of 32% to 1,38,780 units in November as against 1,05,091 units in the year-ago period. Similarly, dispatches of passenger cars increased 29 per cent to 1,30,142 units from 1,00,906 units in November of 2021. However, sales of vans dropped to 7,309 units last month from 9,629 units in November of 2021.

SIAM noticed a sequential decline in wholesales over October 2022 attributable to seasonality and softness in key export markets. "Positive consumer and business sentiments have reflected in the better sales in the month of November 2022, compared to the previous year," said Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) President Vinod Aggarwal.

SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon said that the passenger vehicle segment has posted the highest-ever sales in 2022-23 till November. However, he said, dispatches of three-wheelers are still lower than 2010-11 and two-wheelers are less than the 2016-17 level. "Higher interest rates and increase in long-term insurance premium continues to be a concern for the consumers," Menon said.

Speaking of two-wheeler wholesales, the figure last month grew 16 per cent to 12,36,190 units as against 10,61,493 units in the year-ago period. Sales of motorbikes saw an increase to 7,88,893 units last month from 6,99,949 units in November last year.

Similarly, wholesales of scooters saw a rise to 4,12,832 units in November from 3,18,986 units in November of 2021. The total three-wheeler dispatches surged to 45,664 units against 22,551 units a year ago.