Vehicle Retail Sales Report
Dec 2021 two wheeler retail sales down by 20 pc, PVs down by 11 pc; 3rd wave of Covid to have negative impact: FADA report
New Delhi/IBNS: Total retail sales of vehicles in the month of December 2021 stood at 15,58,756 down by 16 percent year-on-year while overall retails continue to fall by 6 percent when compared to December 2019 (a regular pre-covid month), according to the data shared by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA).
Passenger Vehicle (PV) sales continue to face the brunt of semi-conductor shortage with a consistent long waiting period, the dealers' body said.
PV sales fell by 10.91 percent for the month and stood at 2,44,639 units in December 2021 against 2,74,605 units in December 2020.
However, passenger vehicles sales in December 2019, when Covid-19 had just set in, stood at 2,18,881 units,11.77 percent less than December 2021 sales.
Two-wheeler sales also witnessed year-on-year de-growth of 19.86 percent to 11,48,732 in December 2021 compared to 12,75,501 in December 2020 owing to the semiconductor shortage, the report said.
Tractor sales in December 2021 declined by 10.32 percent to 62,250 units compared to 69,415 units in December 2020. However, tractor sales for the period grew by 22 percent to 51,024 compared to December 2019 sales.
Only the Commercial vehicle segment saw witnessed rise in sales. The segment recorded an increase of 14 percent to 58,847 units in December 2021, compared to 51,749 units in December 2020. M&HCV segments continue healthy growth with low base of last year and bring CV sales at almost pre-Covid levels.
FADA President Vinkesh Gulati said retail sales continued to disappoint in December thus wrapping up an underperforming calendar year, though the month is usually seen as a high sales month where OEMs continue to offer the best discounts to clear the inventory due before the year-end.
On PV sales, Gulati said: "With semi-conductor shortage continuing to play spoil-sport, PV sales in spite of huge bookings, in December closed in the red. Dealers however saw slight ease in vehicle supply thus giving some hope of improvement."
The two-wheeler segment, however, was on a different trajectory when compared to PV, he said.
High cost of ownership, bad rural sentiment, work from home and the latest threat of omicron continued to impact two-wheelers sales, he said.
"The Commercial Vehicles segment continues to rise with M&HCV outshining LCV’s. The government’s push for infrastructure spending especially road infrastructure, better freight rates, price hike announcement in Jan, and a low base helped the overall segment close in positive double digits,” he said.
About its short-term outlook on vehicle sales in the country, the trade body said that various state governments have once again announced covid restrictions, work and education from home have resumed and will have a negative effect on auto retail.
With the fear of health care expenses rising again, the customers are shying away from closing their purchase decisions
"IIT Kanpur has predicted the peak of Omicron sometime in the first week of February, FADA hence remains extremely cautious over the next 2-3 months," it added.
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