Passenger vehicle sales rise by 20 per cent in May

New Delhi: Passenger vehicle sales in India rose by nearly 20 per cent in May, driven by strong sales across segments, including utility vehicles, cars and vans, registering second consecutive month of robust sales.

According to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), passenger vehicle (PV) sales last month rose to 3,01,238 units, up 19.65 per cent from 2,51,764 units in May, 2017. Domestic car sales were up 19.64 per cent at 1,99,479 units as against 1,66,732 units in the same month last year. Utility vehicle (UV) sales rose 17.53 per cent to 82,086 units, while van sales surged 29.54 per cent t0 19,673 units during the month.

"Industry is well on track as far as sales growth is concerned. All segments have shown robust sales during the month," SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur told reporters here. There were various factors, including new product launches, which helped create sales momentum in the PV segment, he added.

"Sales were impacted last year in April-May period as people anticipated increase in vehicle prices due to the roll out of GST. So, the growth we see in May this year is on a somewhat lower base last year," Mathur said.

Even, exports of PVs were up 3.45 per cent at 59,648 units in May as against 57,657 units in same month last year. In May, market leader Maruti Suzuki India reported a growth of 23.99 per cent in its domestic PV sales at 1,61,497 units. Rival Hyundai Motor India saw a growth of 7.14 per cent at 45,008 units.

Homegrown Mahindra & Mahindra registered a growth of 1.63 per cent at 20,621 units, while Tata Motors saw its PV sales jump 53.63 per cent to 19,202 units. According to SIAM, total two-wheeler sales in May rose 9.19 per cent to 18,50,093 units compared to 16,94,323 units in the year-ago month. Motorcycle sales last month rose 15.16 per cent to 12,21,559 units as against 10,60,744 units a year earlier.

Market leader Hero MotoCorp posted a rise of 17.46 per cent in its domestic motorcycle sales at 6,37,203 units as against 5,42,457 units in the year-ago month. Rival Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) sold 191920 units as compared to 1,76,213 units in the same month last year, a growth of 8.91 per cent.

Bajaj Auto's motorcycle sales stood at 1,92,543 units compared to 1,56,523 units in May 2017, up 23.01 per cent. However, scooter sales saw a dip of 1.4 per cent to 5,55,467 units, as compared with 5,63,326 units in May last year. Scooter sales fell for the first time after 15 months, when sales had dipped by 14.5 per cent in January 2017.

"The marginal dip in sales is due to inventory correction by a leading manufacturer," SIAM Deputy Director General Sugato Sen said. Market leader HMSI saw its domestic sales dip by 2.09 per cent to 3,27,167 units as against 3,34,168 units in the year-ago month.

Chennai-based TVS Motors sold 90,737 units as compared to 83,338 units in May last year, up 8.87 per cent. Hero MotoCorp's scooter sales stood at 55,398 units as compared to 70,562 units in the year-ago months, down 21.49 per cent.

On the other hand, commercial vehicle sales were up 43.06 per cent to 76,478 units in May, SIAM said.

"We expect commercial vehicle sales to sustain the momentum going ahead. Government is going to further accelerate infrastructure development as elections are due next year," Sen said.

Vehicle sales across categories registered a rise of 12.13 per cent to 22,82,618 units from 20,35,610 units in May 2017, it added.