Amid high interest rates, steep petrol prices and low consumer confidence, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has said that situation for the automobile industry would continue to be weak until a new Government is formed next year.
While reporting a drop in car sales for second month in succession with an 8.15 per cent drop in November 2013, SIAM stressed that there were no signs of economic revival under the current political circumstances. "The current situation is unlikely to change till the time a new Government comes. At this stage, this Government cannot do anything spectacular to bring about a revival," SIAM's Deputy Director General Sugato Sen said on Tuesday.
According to the data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), domestic passenger car sales in November stood at 1,42,849 units as compared to 1,55,535 units in the same month last year. Talking about the current scenario, Sen said, "We are going through a challenging phase. We anticipated that the November sales will decline after the festive season demand dries up. We knew that the high demand during the festivities were unsustainable under the current economic conditions."
He further said beyond factors such as high interest rates and fuel prices that were the bane for auto sales for months, the overall situation of the economy and low consumer sentiments have greatly affected demand for automobiles.
In November, automobile leader, Maruti Suzuki India posted 4.22 per cent decline in its domestic sales at 71,649 units as against 74,793 units in the year-ago month. Rival Hyundai Motor India saw its sales dip by 3.66 per cent to 33,427 units as compared to 34,698 units in November last year.
While Tata Motors saw its car sales drop by 41.57 per cent to 7,910 units in November as against 13,538 units last year, Honda Cars India had 150.87 per cent jump in sales to 9,310 units on the back of its compact sedan Amaze, up from 3,711 units in the year-ago month. Utility vehicles major Mahindra & Mahindra also saw its domestic sales decline by 30.46 per cent to 16,249 units in the month from 23,369 units in the same month last year.
According to SIAM, motorcycle sales in November grew by 1.44 per cent to 8,80,015 units from 8,67,508 units in the same month previous year. Market leader Hero MotoCorp saw its sales grow by 5 per cent to 4,65,505 units in November from 4,43,308 units in the same month last year. Rival Bajaj Auto saw its bike sales decline by 28.42 per cent to 1,62,616 units as compared to 2,27,186 units in the year-ago month.