The beginning of 2021 felt like a respite from what was inarguably one of the toughest years in automotive (and world) history. Businesses were re-opening, sales were flourishing, and the promise of a fully vaccinated nation was almost within our reach. But then, all of it came crashing down, and India faced the wrath of the second wave of the covid-19 pandemic. It brought the entire nation to a standstill with the ever-increasing mortality rate.
All business sectors took a massive hit, including the automotive industry. Looking at the stats for April'21, it is clear that there has been a steep decline in passenger vehicle sales over the past month. With an estimated 2.86 lakh passenger vehicles sold in April, the MoM sales show a 10% decline compared to vehicle sales of a whopping 3.25 lakhs in March this year. It cannot be said if the yearly stats will be reflected since April 2020 registered zero sales after the nationwide lockdown imposed by the Government of India at the start of the pandemic.
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As for the company-wise industry breakdown, Maruti Suzuki emerged on top as the top contender, with 1.35 lakh units sold. This is especially impressive since their MoM stats reflect a decline of 7%. Hyundai followed close behind with 49k units, reflecting a decline of 6.8% with almost 53k units sold in March'21.
Indian Car Sales March vs April 2021
Tata Motors and Kia registered at 25k and 16k, witnessing steep declines of 15.4% and 11.2%, respectively. Toyota was especially struck hard with an MoM decline of 35.8%. It sold about 9k units as opposed to the 15k units sold in March. Renault managed meagre sales of about 8.7k units, witnessing a 30% decline from last month.
On a positive note, Mahindra and Honda registered growths of 9.5% and 27.7%, with sales of over 18k and 9k vehicles, respectively. Ford, Nissan, MG Motor, and Volkswagen were handed the short end of the stick this month with negative growths of 29.40%, 16.03%, 53.60%, and 24.30%, respectively. Ford was the only one with more than 5k sales while the other three lagged behind and registered sales under 5k.
Skoda and Jeep witnessed a massive issue as both registered less than a thousand units, with an MoM degrowth of 17.1% and 37.8%.
With lockdown & curfew implemented in most Indian states, sales & delivery of new vehicles are likely to be affected in the upcoming month too.
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