NEW DELHI: India’s domestic passenger vehicle sales fell for the ninth straight month in July, an auto industry body said on Tuesday, amid a deepening crisis in the country’s automobile sector that has triggered large-scale job losses.
Sales of passenger vehicles to car dealers fell 30.9 percent to 200,790 in July, data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed. Commercial vehicles sales fell 25.7 percent to 56,866 units, SIAM said.
Motorcycle and scooters sales fell 16.8 percent to about 1.51 million units, while passenger car sales fell 36 percent to 122,956 units, the data showed. Domestic passenger vehicle production was down nearly 17 percent in the month.
FASTFACT
23% - India’s S&P BSE auto sector index has fallen 23 percent this year.
“The data shows an urgent need for a revival package from the government. The industry is doing everything possible to increase sales, but it needs government support,” Vishnu Mathur, director general of SIAM, said.
India’s S&P BSE auto sector index has fallen 23 percent this year, with the country’s top automaker Maruti Suzuki’s market valuation falling 18.3 percent.
The fall in car sales comes at a time when demand for consumer goods is falling amid signs of an economic slowdown in India.
