Auto industry suffers fall of 13.7 pc in March: SIAM

The automobile industry saw a de-growth of 13.69 per cent in March with 18.6 crore units including passenger cars, commercial vehicle and two wheelers in March as against 21.5 crore units sold in the year-ago period.

Two wheelers sales slipped by 13.19 per cent in March 2021 to 15.1 crore units as against 17.4 crore units sold in March 2020, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said on Monday.

Commercial vehicle sales slipped nearly 21 per cent in FY21. A total of 5.68 lakh units were sold in 2021 as against 7.17 lakh units sold in 2020.

Passenger vehicles sales in March 2021 witnessed a de-growth of 2.24 per cent with 27.1 lakh units sold as against 27.7 lakh units sold in March 2020.

Three wheelers have seen a de growth of 66.06 per cent. A total of 2.16 lakh units were sold last month as against 6.37 lakh units sold in March 2020.

"The Indian automobile industry continues to work hard amid challenges of Covid second wave to maximise production and sales while ensuring the safety of its people, partners and customers," said SIAM President Kenichi Ayukawa.

"On the sales front, a deep structural slowdown in the industry even before the pandemic combined with the impact of Covid-19 in 2020-21 has pushed all vehicle segments back by many years," he said.

"Recovery from here will require time and efforts by all stakeholders. There is uncertainty in the value chain owing to semiconductors, lockdowns and raw material. In an environment of uncertainty, instead of trying to predict the future, we will all work hard to create it," added Ayukawa.

( With inputs from ANI )