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Passenger Vehicle Sales Plunge 31%, Steepest Fall In Nearly 2 Decades: 10 Points

Domestic passenger vehicle sales fall for ninth straight month Passenger car sales down 35.95% at 1,22,956 in July, data shows Jobs of about 10 lakh workers at risk, says SIAM director general

Domestic passenger car sales declined 35.95 per cent to 1,22,956 in July, according to SIAM data
Domestic passenger car sales declined 35.95 per cent to 1,22,956 in July, according to SIAM data
  1. The data also showed that domestic passenger vehicle production was down 16.52 per cent last month. Production of passenger cars stood at 2,05,194 units in July, down 20.08 per cent compared with the year-ago period.
  2. The data from SIAM comes at a time the auto sector is struggling against low consumer demand and lakhs of estimated job cuts.
  3. “More than 3 lakh temporary and casual workers in the automobile sectors are estimated to have lost their jobs… Jobs of about 10 lakh workers are at risk,” SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur told NDTV. 
  4. A revival package has been sought from the government, he said. "We want the government to reduce GST on the auto sector from the base rate of 28 per cent to 18 per cent for a short period,” added Mr Mathur. 
  5. Automobile stocks slumped on Tuesday after the release of the monthly sales report by SIAM, with the Nifty Auto index diving 3.95 per cent during the session.
  6. A total of 61,104 passenger vehicles were exported last month, marking a decline of 4.43 per cent compared with the year-ago period. Commercial vehicle exports dropped 32.87 per cent to 5,794 units.
  7. Total commercial vehicle sales in the domestic market fell 25.71 per cent, while production declined 26.44 per cent.
  8. Total sales of medium and heavy commercial vehicles - which includes passenger as well as goods carriers - slumped 37.48 per cent while production fell 37.77 per cent, according to SIAM data. In the light commercial vehicle segment, sales fell 18.79 per cent with a 19.72 per cent decline in production.
  9. In the first six months of the current financial year, the auto industry produced 97,24,373 vehicles - including passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, three wheelers, two wheelers and quadricycles, marking a fall of 10.65 per cent compared with the corresponding period a year ago.
  10. The country's GDP or gross domestic product grew 5.8 per cent in the quarter ended March 31, the lowest rate of expansion in nearly five years. Many analysts expect data due later this month to show that economic growth in the quarter ended June 30 faltered even further.