Growth momentum in sale of passenger vehicles continues

Growth momentum in the sale of passenger vehicles continued in February this year. As per data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Friday, Passenger Vehicles sales were 2,91,928 units in February as against 2,62,984 in February 2022. Similarly, three-wheeler sales were 50,382 units and two-wheeler sales were 11,29,661 units in February 2023 as against 27,074 and 10,50,079 in February 2022. Commenting on February 2023 sales data, Vinod Aggarwal, President, SIAM said, “Overall positive sentiments in the market continues, which is also driven by encouraging announcements at the Union Budget for consumers. Auto Industry is fully geared up for transition to Phase 2 of BS 6 Emission Norms for all categories of vehicles from next month. Hike in Repo Rates in February, which would result in higher cost of borrowings, remains a concern and we hope that the rates would get moderated suitably. Moderation of CNG Fuel Prices is also important for expanding the footprint of Gas Based Mobility which is critical for Sustainable Mobility.” Commenting on the sales data, Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM said, “Passenger Vehicles posted its highest ever sales of February and the three-wheeler segment posted appreciable growth this month, compared to last two years. The two-wheeler segment posted a moderate growth of 8 per cent in February 2023, compared to February 2022. In the period April – February, two and three-wheelers are yet to reach the pre-Covid levels, though it is the highest ever for passenger vehicles.” As per the SIAM data, the total production of passenger vehicles, three wheelers, two-wheelers and quadricycles in the month of February 2023 were 17,54,922 units. It said that passenger vehicles sales were 34,61,716 units in April 2022 – February 2023, three-wheeler sales were 4,34,408 units in April 2022 – February 2023 and two-wheeler sales were 1,45,71,534 units in April 2022 – February 2023. SIAM has said that BMW,