India car sales hit all-time high in August on holiday buying despite rising prices

India car sales hit all-time high in August

MUMBAI, India — Car sales in India surged to a record for a second straight month in August on strong demand before the holiday season, despite rising prices and supply constraints.

Figures released Thursday by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers showed that car sales hit 160,794 vehicles in August, up 33.2 percent from the year before.

Commercial vehicle sales totaled 52,030, up 28.1 percent from a year earlier. Total vehicle sales, which includes utility and other passenger vehicles, rose 33 percent to 256,257.

“Demand for vehicles continues to surpass supply. This is despite the fact that most auto majors have hiked prices, passing on the cost impact to the consumers owing to the high commodity prices and changes in the emission norms,” Angel Broking analyst Vaishali Jajoo wrote in a recent report.

Faced with supply constraints, some automakers — like market leader Maruti Suzuki — have trimmed exports to meet domestic demand. August exports of passenger vehicles slipped 7.4 percent from a year earlier to 38,279 vehicles.

Maruti Suzuki said this week that it will open a third plant in India to keep up with burgeoning sales.

Top utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra has also been hurt by shortages of components like tires and fuel injection pumps, according to Macquarie Securities analysts.

Ford Motor Co. expects India to be the world’s third-largest auto market by decade’s end, after China and the U.S. Like other global auto majors, it’s pushing hard to gain market share from industry leaders Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai and Tata Motors. Ford plans to launch eight more India models by the middle of the decade on the heels of its successful Figo launch.

Strong industrial production and economic growth helped Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle maker. Domestic sales of its key medium and heavy commercial vehicles rose 34 percent over last August.

“A normal monsoon season, improving consumer sentiment and an overall recovery in the economy should benefit auto sales,” Macquarie analyst Sanjay Doshi said in a recent research note.

“We expect sales numbers to remain healthy at least until the festive season, as inventory levels are below average. Increasing interest rates can affect sales in the second half of the fiscal year.”