PUNE: Passenger vehicle sales comprising cars, utility vehicles and vans in September fell 41 per cent to 1,60,070 units from 2,72,027 units in the same month a year ago, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers or Siam said on Thursday.
The sales dropped as high commodity prices and semiconductor crunch aggravated problems for automakers.
The auto industry had sold 2,72,027 passenger vehicles in the same month last year.
September’s PV sales were far lower than August’s 2.32 lakh on a sequential basis.
In fact, the fall in PV volumes comes as automakers struggle to meet demand due to the acute shortage of chips, even as dealers sit on an order book exceeding 500,000 units and the waiting period for certain vehicle models/ variants stretches over six months.
Maruti Suzuki, the car market leader, had slashed production by 60 per cent in September followed by cuts from Hyundai, Nissan, M&M and MG Motor. Maruti Suzuki claims to have pending orders for 2,15,000 PVs.
“Indian automobile industry continues to face new challenges. While on one hand, we are seeing a revival in vehicle demand, on the other hand, shortage of semiconductor chips is causing a major concern for the industry. Many members have curtailed their production plans,” Kenichi Ayukawa, president at Siam, said.
