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Retail sales of passenger vehicles declined a massive 87 per cent year-on-year to 30,749 units in May due to the covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown measures imposed by the Centre and the states to contain the spread of the virus, according to data released by Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) on Thursday. Most automakers reopened their showrooms and service centres from the first week of May after the easing of lockdown measures.
Out of 26,500 outlets, about 60 per cent of showrooms and 80 per cent of workshops resumed operations across the country at the end of May. Hence, registrations in May were not indicative of the demand situation as the lockdown still continued in many parts.
‘With an assumption of no further lockdown and continued reopening measures, there will be substantial pick up in retail sales of automobiles in comparison to May, but the overall outlook continues to be grim with projected sales to witness a decline of more than 25 per cent compared to last year,’ added Kale.
As a result of the sudden halt in economic activity due to the pandemic, retail sales of commercial vehicles also declined by a massive 96.63 per cent to just 2,711 units. Showroom sales of motorcycles and scooters also dropped by 88.8 per cent to 1,59,039 units during the month.
Vehicle manufacturers had to close their factories and showrooms from 22 March, following the lockdown. However, most manufacturers during the time were working with suppliers and dealers to create standard operating procedures (SOPs) that needed to be followed once manufacturing and retail operations resume.
