December auto sales skid 12%: FADA
The HinduAutomobile retail sales in December slid 12% year-on-year and 45.26% month-on-month, according to retail data released by The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations, indicating a demand crunch in a slowing economy. The 2W segment which suffered a substantial drop of 17.6% y-o-y and 54.2% m-o-m was impacted by delayed crop payments, halted government disbursements and typical year-end factors, FADA said citing dealers’ feedback. PV retail sales declined by 1.9% yoy and 8.8% m-o-m, primarily due to high inventory levels following the festive season and aggressive discounting aimed at clearing stock, said C. S. Vigneshwar, president, FADA. “Poor market sentiment, limited new model launches and intense price competition among co-dealers further impacted sales,” he said adding inventory levels have now come down to 55 and 60 days. CV retails declined by 5.2% yoy and 12.1% m-o-m due to low market sentiment, delayed government fund releases and slow financing approvals, the FADA President said adding many customers postponed purchases, preferring 2025 models.