April Car Sales Growth Moderates on High Base

Car sales in the local market rose 1.3% to 335,629 units last month. Automakers attributed the tepid pace of growth to tapering off of the post-pandemic pent-up demand that sustained for the last two financial years.  A high base due to the strong growth in the last two years weighed on the year-on-year comparison, resulting in the tepid pace of growth in April.

Though the growth rate moderated in April, it was the fourth consecutive month in CY-24 when sales volume in the local market set a new record. Two-wheeler sales posted strong growth, increasing 30.8% from a year earlier to 1,751,393 units. Three-wheeler sales rose 14.5% to 49,116 units. Year 2024-25 has started on a reasonably good note for the auto industry, as all the segments have posted growth in April 2024 compared to April 2023. Sales of passenger vehicles grew 8.4% to a record high of 4.22 million units in the financial year concluded March 31, 2024.

Sales had grown 27% than the previous financial year. Passenger vehicles continue the highest-ever monthly sales trend, with 3.36 lakh units, though with a marginal growth of 1.3%, in April 2024, as compared to April 2023. Continuing with the trends of Q4 of 2023-24, two-wheelers reported significant growth of 30.8% in April 2024, compared to April 2023, posting sales of about 17.5 lakh units, while the three-wheeler segment also reported sales of about 0.49 lakh units, with a growth of 14.5% in April 2024, compared to April 2023.