Passenger car wholesale grows 4% in November thanks to robust demand: Siam

Domestic passenger car wholesale sales rose about 4 percent year-on-year in November, driven by robust demand for commercial vehicles, industry body SIAM said on Tuesday.

Shipments of passenger cars from companies to dealers rose to 334,130 units last month, the best ever figure for the month of November, compared to 322,268 units in the same month last year.

Two-wheeler sales rose to 1,623,399 units last month, a growth of 31 percent from 1,236,282 units in November 2022.

Similarly, the number of three-wheelers sold last month also rose to 59,738 units, an increase of 31 percent from 45,664 units in November last year.

“All segments of the automotive industry witnessed robust growth during the festival season, which ended in the first half of November,” Vinod Aggarwal, president of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), said in a statement.

Buoyed by strong economic growth, the auto industry is optimistic about ending 2023 on a high note and expects this trend to continue in 2024, he added.

SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon further said that the passenger car segment witnessed the highest ever wholesale shipment of 334,000 units in November 2023, albeit at a growth rate of 3.7 percent, against the backdrop of a high base in November last year.

Three-wheeler shipments in November were just below the November 2017 peak, he noted.

Similarly, two-wheeler wholesale sales last month were also slightly below the November 2018 peak, Menon said.