FY23: Race For Record Auto Sales

Price hikes and higher interest rates have failed to come in the way of India's love for cars.

- RISHI KANT

MARUTI SUZUKI India Ltd. (MSIL) chairman R.C. Bhargava made an upbeat observation while addressing media during announcement of 2nd quarter results. The Indian automobile industry has reached a stage, at least this year, where it will surpass the figures of FY19, which was the year when it recorded its highest numbers.” The industry had reported sales of 33,77,436 passenger vehicles PVs) in FY19. A few days later, Federation of Automotive Dealers Association FADA) said PV segment saw its bestever festive season. Sales surpassed the previous best figure of 4,47,000 units, achieved in 2020, by 2% to 4,56,000 units. Wholesale dispatches in first half of FY23 stood at 19,36,740 units, data from Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers shows.

These figures are surprising for an industry lurching from crisis to crisis after FY19. In FY20, the prepandemic year, demand sagged due to economic slowdown. This was followed by shift from BS-IV to far more stringent BS-VI norms right in the middle of the Covid-19 lockdown. The pandemic brought further economic uncertainty along with shortage of semiconductors due to supply-chain disruptions.

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