FY20 ends for Motown on a new low

It has been a bad year for the country’s auto sector, as all throughout 2019-20 (FY20) the sector had to withstand several storms like liquidity crunch, dealer points shutting down and poor consumer sentiment, which weakened demand.

- Ritwik Sinha

At a time when the Motown was desperately trying to sell off BS4 vehicles before April 1, 2020, the spread of Covid-19 further hampered sales as restrictions forced to shut down showrooms

Country’s passenger vehicles suffered 52 percent decline in sales in March over the same month of the previous year.

In March, the premium sedan and the luxury sedan segments witnessed 94 percent and 45 percent drop in sales, respectively, while the entry-level segment has taken the least hit of 27 percent.

The compact hatchback segment registered a 55 percent drop, premium hatchback was down 46 percent and compact sedan segment was down 66 percent. The SUV and MUV segments suffered 37 and 47 percent drop in sales, respectively.

The country’s largest passenger car manufacturer Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) reported a year-on-year 47 percent decline in total sales (domestic and exports) at 83,792 units in March. The company had sold 158,076 units in March last year.

“The sales during March 2020 are not comparable with sales in March 2019 due to the suspension of operations with effect from March 22, 2020, in line with national policy,” MSI said.

Domestic sales also dipped by 47.6 percent at 76,976 units in March 2020, as against 147,613 units in the same month last year, it added.

Exports in March eroded by 55 percent at 4,712 units as against 10,463 units in the corresponding month last year, the company said.

The country’s second-largest carmaker, Hyundai Motor India sold a total of 32,279 units during the previous month. The company’s sales witnessed a decline of 47 percent over the same period in March 2019 when it sold a total of 61,150 units.