Light Vehicle Sales: India slips to 4th position
India has slipped to the fourth rank in light vehicles sales globally in the first quarter of the ongoing calendar year, according to S&P Global Mobility. Light vehicles include all passenger vehicles, small commercial vehicles and vans less than 6 tonnes.
Tim Armstrong, who heads automotive planning solutions at S&P Global Mobility, attributes the trend reversal to the drying up of pent-up demand in India, rising interest rates and an increase in vehicle prices which has hit the entry-level car buyers hard.
But sales in India are still growing at a healthy pace. “Despite having grown over 20% in the last calendar year, India has still managed to grow in double digits in the first quarter, carrying forward the momentum. We expect it to again touch record sales of 4.7 million units in 2023, beating its own record of 2022 (4.4 million light vehicles),” said Armstrong.