Car, SUV inventory surges in Feb amid slowdown fears

YEAR-END PUSH

- SWARAJ BAGGONKAR

AFTER TWO CONSECUTIVE months of rise, inventory buildup of passenger vehicles (PVs) had cooled off in January but it picked up again sharply in February, fuelling concerns of stock dumping by manufacturers.

As per data provided by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam), PVs wholesale dispatches in February rose 2% year on year (y-o-y) at 377,689 units. This is nearly 25% more than the number of PVs actually sold during the month going by the registration data.

Last week dealers warned of excessive inventory congesting the distribution channel amid delayed conversions (booking to actual sales) due to poor buyer sentiment. Dealers also noted that it was mostly the new launches that were attracting demand even as older models carried high levels of discounts.