Passenger vehicle sales dip 38 pc in June as COVID-19 continues to impact offtake: FADA

Passenger vehicle retail sales in June fell 38.34 per cent to 1,26,417 units as compared to the same month last year as COVID-19 continued to impact the sentiment of buyers, automobile dealers'' body FADA said on Tuesday.

According to Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), which collected vehicle registration data from 1,230 out of the 1,440 regional transport offices (RTOs), passenger vehicle sales stood at 2,05,011 units in June 2019.

Two-wheeler sales declined 40.92 per cent to 7,90,118 units last month as compared with 13,37,462 units in June 2019.

Commercial vehicle sales plunged 83.83 per cent to 10,509 units as against 64,976 units in the year-ago period.

Three-wheeler sales fell 75.43 per cent to 11,993 units last month as compared with 48,804 units in June 2019.

Total sales across categories slipped 42 per cent to 9,84,395 units in June 2020 as against 16,97,166 units in the year-ago month.

Commenting on the June retail sales, FADA President Ashish Harsharaj Kale said the overall weak economic sentiment coupled with rising number of COVID-19 patients has impacted  consumer confidence especially in bigger cities.

He, however, noted that rural markets, led by a robust crop harvest and timely arrival of monsoons, witnessed demand recovery in comparison to urban areas, therefore leading to a surge in retail sales of tractors as well as positively impacting offtake of two- wheelers and small commercial vehicles.

Kale urged the government for urgent introduction of attractive incentive based vehicle scrappage policy for the revival of  commercial vehicle sector.

On sales outlook for July, Kale said:"With an assumption of no further lockdown and continued reopening measures, it is anticipated that vehicle registrations will see somewhat similar trends and mostly will better the June numbers, with further green shoots of demand in newer geographies and segments."

Challenges like supply side constraints and retail lending from NBFCs continue and thus normalcy in demand still seems quite distant and not before the festive season, he added.

The annual sales outlook continues to remain grim with a projected de-growth expected between 15- 35 per cent across various segments in the current fiscal, except for the tractor segment, which looks set to clock positive annual growth, Kale said.