Automobile sales in India sees worst-ever fall in August
New Delhi: Automobile sales in India witnessed its worst-ever drop in August with despatches in all segments, including passenger vehicles and two-wheelers, continuing to plummet as the sector reels under an unprecedented downturn, industry body SIAM reported on Monday.
This is the steepest fall in overall vehicle sales in the country since Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) started recording wholesale vehicle sales data in 1997-98.
As per data released by the industry body, vehicle sales across categories, including passenger vehicles (PVs) and two-wheelers and commercial vehicles (CVs) stood at 18,21,490 units last month as against 23,82,436 units in August 2018, a fall of 23.55 per cent.
In July, overall auto sales had witnessed its sharpest decline in nearly 19 years, dropping 18.71 per cent to 18,25,148 units last month as against 22,45,223 units in July 2018.
Similarly, domestic PV sales saw its worst-ever fall in August, slumping by 31.57 per cent to 1,96,524 units from 2,87,198 units in the year-ago period.
Previously, the worst decline in the segment was registered in July this year when wholesales had fallen 30.98 per cent to 2,00,790 units.
The fall in PV sales in August was also the tenth consecutive month of decline. In fact, all vehicle categories witnessed decline in sales during the month.
In the PV segment, market leader Maruti Suzuki India posted 36.14 per cent decline in its August sales at 93,173 units.
Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) also witnessed 16.58 per cent decrease at 38,205 units, while Mahindra & Mahindra posted a fall of 31.58 per cent at 13,504 units in during the month.
SIAM said passenger car sales in August were also the worst ever. Last month, domestic car sales were down 41.09 per cent at 1,15,957 units as against 1,96,847 units in August 2018.
Besides, total two-wheeler sales last month declined by a record 22.24 per cent to 15,14,196 units compared to 19,47,304 units in the year-ago month. Commercial vehicle sales were down 38.71 per cent to 51,897 units in August as compared with 84,668 units in August 2018.
Similarly, motorcycle sales last month declined 22.33 per cent to 9,37,486 units as against 12,07,005 units a year earlier. Scooter sales declined by 22.19 per cent to 5,20,898 units as compared with 6,69,416 units in August last year.
In the two-wheeler category, Hero MotoCorp registered a 20.97 per cent drop in sales at 5,24,003 units, while rival Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) saw sales decline by 26.26 per cent to 425664 units.
Similarly, Chennai-based TVS Motor Co saw it sales slump by 20.37 per cent at 2,19,528 units in August.
On the other hand, August retail sales data showed a somewhat better picture in terms of sales, pointing to inventory correction taking place in the industry.
As per retail sales data also provided by SIAM, total automobile sales declined by 4.15 per cent 16,00,376 units as compared with 16,69,751 units in August 2018. Similarly, PV sales stood at 2,38,357 units last month as compared with 2,56,662 units in the same month of last year, a decline of 7.13 per cent.
Besides, total two-wheeler retail sales declined by 3.4 per cent to 12,42,452 units in August as compared with 12,86,176 units in the year-ago period.
With prolonged slump in sales, automobile and component manufacturers have been seeking GST cut on automobiles to 18 per cent from 28 per cent to help the sector come out of a prolonged slump that has resulted in job losses.
The next GST Council meeting will be held on September 20 in Goa.
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Four cops suspended after man escapes from custody, gets hit by truck in Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad (UP) (PTI): The Ghaziabad Police has suspended four personnel over presumed negligence and dereliction of duty after a detainee suffered severe injuries while allegedly fleeing from custody, a police official said on Friday.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Modinagar) Bhaskar Verma said one Amit Kumar (35), an outsourced employee at Patla Nagar Panchayat, was allegedly drinking alcohol with three of his friends at a public place on Tuesday night. When Niwari police station arrived and reprimanded them, an altercation ensued, and Amit was subsequently detained.
While police were taking him for medical examination at Community Health Centre Muradnagar, Amit reportedly jumped from the moving police vehicle near the health centre to escape. As he ran towards the Delhi-Meerut highway, he was hit by an oncoming truck and sustained severe injuries. He was rushed to Yashoda Hospital in Nehru Nagar, where he is currently undergoing treatment in the ICU.
The police personnel allegedly failed to report the truck accident to their senior officers initially, claiming instead that Amit had fallen and injured himself while attempting to flee.
The incident sparked outrage among locals and the family of the detainee, who alleged that Amit was brutally thrashed while in custody.
On Thursday, protesters gathered outside the Niwari police station for nearly an hour, raising slogans against the police. The situation was eventually brought under control after officials assured that stringent action would be taken.
In response, a delegation of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) leaders met Police Commissioner J Ravindra Goud to submit a formal complaint demanding accountability for the Niwari police station personnel.
On Thursday evening, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rural) Surendra Nath Tiwari issued the suspension order against Patla police outpost in-charge Sub-Inspector Lokendra, Sub-Inspector Shaid Khan, Head Constable Sachin Mohan and Constable Narendra.
Additionally, the role of Niwari Station House Officer KK Maurya is under investigation, and a departmental inquiry has been initiated against the errant personnel, Verma said.
