Domestic two-wheeler dispatches to dealerships fell in July after rising for the previous three months, as sales of both motorcycles and scooters witnessed degrowth.
The domestic sales fell 7% year-on-year to 12.8 lakh units in July, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. Within the segment, motorcycle sales fell 6% to 8.2 lakh units, while scooter sales declined 10.5% to 4.3 lakh units.
After strong growth in both April and May, slower demand caught up with sales last month when the two-wheeler dispatches grew just 1.7% to 13.3 lakh units in June.
“Though the passenger vehicle and three-wheeler segments are performing well, there has been a degrowth of two-wheelers in July 2023, compared to July 2022," Vinod Aggarwal, president of SIAM, said in a statement.
SIAM expects positive economic environment, good monsoons, and the upcoming festive season to support continued growth in the auto industry.
The lower dispatches to dealerships in July may be a precursor to weak demand on the ground, in the run-up to the festivals, a period when companies and dealers shore-up their inventories in hopes of bumper sales during the time.
Nearly 16% fall in production of scooters and over 6% decline in motorcycle production in July also underlines companies' effort of streamlining the inventory at dealerships.
In the passenger vehicle segment, the industry volumes grew 2.6% to highest-ever sales in July at 3.5 lakh units, as SUV dispatches led the overall sales. The dispatches of passenger cars remained weak in July, data from SIAM showed.
The three-wheeler sales rose sharply by 79% to 56,034 units, which is the second highest in the month of July after the peak of 2018-19, the association said.
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