Passenger car sales have fallen steeply in the year 2013. The automobile market in India was considered to be one of the fastest growing markets at a global level. In terms of numbers, the downfall noted 9.6% dip in sales. Sales for the month of August 2013 and September 2013 did not notice any negative changes, but the annual figures of 19,98,703 from the year 2012, fell to 18,07,011 in the year 2013. It is said that the decline is the steepest in more than a decade.
Reports state, Car sales in December has declined 4.52% to 132,561 units from 138,835 units in the same month as reported in 2012. The slowdown in sales numbers is anticipated to have adverse effects on the Indian economy. Vishnu Mathur, Director General, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) was quoted as saying, “ The decline in annual car sales that we witnessed in 2013 was the first time after 2002. The negative sentiments have deepened due to the current state of the economy, we only expect some growth in the second half of next fiscal.”
As per sources, Mahindra & Mahindra has reported 26.93% decline to 15,881 units as compared to 21,735 units in December 2012. Its close contender Tata Motors saw the sales dip to 41.92% to just 6,537 units in December from 11,257 units last year. For December 2013, Hyundai reported 6.2% growth at 28,320 units as compared with 26,651 units in similar month a year ago. India's largest car manufacturer reported a 6.4% increase at 73,155 units in sales in the month of December 2013 in comparison to 68,729 units a year back.
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has also reported that motorcycle sales for last month fell 4.24 per cent to 8,08,281 units from 8,44,046 units in comparison to the same period of the previous year. There are quite a few new launches scheduled for the year 2014 from all major car manufacturers, and it is anticipated that the car sales figures may be on a positive note by the end of this year.
