New production and sales figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) show that the Indian automobile industry is experiencing strong growth in early 2023.
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers reported that domestic passenger vehicle wholesales increased 26.73% to over 38.9 lakh units in 2022-23. This was due to an increase in demand for utility vehicles.
According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers’ (SIAM) latest data, 38,90,114 passenger vehicles were shipped from dealers to manufacturers in the fiscal ending March 31, 2023. This compares to 30,69,523 units for 2021-22.
In 2018-19, 33,774,436 PVs were sold wholesale.
Utility vehicles led the growth in PV sales in FY23, with 20,03,718 units compared to 14,892,219 units in FY22. This is a 34.55% increase. This segment now accounts for 51.5% of PV sales.
The number of commercial vehicle sales was 9,62,468 in FY23, compared with 7,16,566 in FY22.
In FY23, the total sales of two-wheelers were 1,58,62,087 units, up 17% from 1,35,70,008 units for FY22. This segment has seen a decline over the past three years.
The vehicle wholesales in all categories grew by 20.36% to 2,12,04,162 units in 2022-22 and 1,76,17,606 units in 2021-22.
SIAM stated that there are still challenges in entry-level two-wheelers and passenger cars. Comparable to FY17’s peak levels, the entry-level mini-car segment fell by 57% in FY23.
However, sales of entry-level scooters have declined by 27% over the peak in 2018-19. The same goes for the sale of entry-level bikes, which dropped 38% from the 2018-19 peak, SIAM reported.
According to the latest SIAM data, domestic wholesales for passenger vehicles increased by 4.47% in March to 2,92,030 units.
Wholesales of passenger cars stood at 2,795,525 units in March 2022.
SIAM reported that domestic two-wheeler sales increased by 12,90,553 units last month, compared with 11,98,825 units the previous year. It added that the total vehicle wholesales last month was 16,37,048 units, compared to 15,10,534 units a full year ago.
In March 2023, total production of Passenger Vehicles, Three Wheelers, Two Wheelers, and Quadricycles reached an impressive 20,04,592 units, with notable domestic sales figures including 2,92,030 units for Passenger Vehicles, 54,360 units for Three Wheelers, and 12,90,553 units for Two Wheelers.
Looking at the first quarter of the year (January – March 2023), production figures increased to a total of 60,94,960 units, with domestic sales including 10,18,355 units of Passenger Vehicles, 2,78,878 units of Commercial Vehicles, 1,53,645 units of Three Wheelers, and 36,04,593 units of Two Wheelers.
For the full financial year (April 2022 – March 2023), total production reached an impressive 2,59,31,867 units. Domestic sales during this period included 38,90,114 units of Passenger Vehicles, 9,62,468 units of Commercial Vehicles, 4,88,768 units of Three Wheelers, and 1,58,62,087 units of Two Wheelers.
These production and sales numbers indicate strong growth in the Indian automobile industry, which is great news for manufacturers, dealers, and consumers alike.
Commenting on sales data of 2022-23, Mr. Vinod Aggarwal, President of, SIAM said, “2022-23 has been a year of consolidation, post-Covid. The year started again with supply chain disruptions from the Ukraine conflict. However, with efficient management of supply chains and better availability of commodities especially for electronics items, prices have moderated over the year, though it remains a concern. The passenger Vehicle segment posted the highest-ever domestic sales surpassing the previous peak in 2018-19. Commercial vehicles posted the 2nd highest domestic sales and are close to the previous peak of 2018-19. In spite of good growth in domestic sales of three-wheelers, they are still below the 2010-11 levels and the Two-Wheelers domestic sales are still below the 2014-15 levels. Favorable Policy initiatives ranging from the impact of new PLI Schemes, encouraging announcements in the Budget, forward-looking logistics & Foreign Trade policies, and recently announced Gas pricing Guidelines would go a long way in supporting the growth of the Industry.”
Commenting on the 2022-23 performance, Mr. Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM said, “With the growth in overall automobile domestic sales of 20% in 2022-23, the industry recorded highest passenger vehicle sales with an annual growth of 27%. Commercial Vehicles and Three-Wheelers posted growth of 34% and 87% respectively, driven by higher off-take of Passenger Carriers. The Two-wheelers segment grew by a moderate 17%, after witnessing de-growth for the previous three consecutive years. These segments are yet to reach the pre-pandemic levels.”
