Automotive
Third-wave shadow dampens car demand: ‘At best PV sales may match CY19 figures’
01 Aug 2021
Going by the auto sales in the first six months of the calendar year 2021, auto analysts forecast that the passenger vehicle segment could touch the CY19 levels by the end of this year. Even if that happens, it would not be right to say that the PV sales have returned to health as CY19 wasn’t a great year for the industry — PV sales during that year had declined 12% to 29,36,839 units, from the all-time high of 33,49,386 units in CY18.
Despite PV sales plummeting to just 88,045 units in May 2021 due to the Covid-19 second wave, the overall January-June 2021 sales were 14,30,184 units, just a lakh units less than 15,28,233 units sold in January-June 2019. Som Kapoor, partner, automotive sector, EY India, told FE that he is cautiously optimistic whether or not PV sales can match CY19 levels. “The optimism stems from the fact that CY19 sales were low. Also, there is some pent-up demand right now, especially in urban markets, and so matching 2019 levels may not be difficult,” he said.