Chip shortage continues to weigh down PV sales in April

The semiconductor shortage continued to play spoilsport for top passenger vehicles (PV) manufacturers like Maruti Suzuki India and Hyundai Motor India, as their wholesale dispatches in April declined in comparison to the year-ago month. Tata Motors, however, maintained its positive momentum to post a growth in wholesale volumes.

Maruti Suzuki’s PV wholesale volumes in the domestic market fell 10.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 121,995 units in April. The domestic wholesales of Hyundai stood at 44,001 units, a fall of 10.2% over the same month last year.

“The shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production of vehicles, mainly domestic models. The company took all possible measures to minimize the impact,” Maruti Suzuki said in an official statement. With the semiconductor shortage impacting the production of cars, the company has over 300,000 pending bookings.

Tata Motors continued its strong run in the PV segment, clocking a growth of 65.7% y-o-y to 41,587 units in wholesale volumes in April. The company also reported a rise of 108.9% y-o-y to 29,880 units in commercial vehicle sales.

The wholesale volumes of Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) were up 57.1% y-o-y to 15,085 units in April. “Demand continues to peak in the new financial year, as we close the month of April with an overall growth of 57% over wholesales in the same month last year. Along with Crysta, Fortuner, and Legender, Camry hybrid too has received very encouraging booking orders,” said Atul Sood, associate vice president, sales, and strategic marketing, TKM.

While Honda Cars India’s wholesale dispatches slipped 13.2% y-o-y to 7,874 units in April, Skoda Auto India saw its sales soaring 436.1% y-o-y to 5,152 units on a fairly low base.

“The customer sentiment continues to show improvement and positivity, which is reflected in strong demand. However, the supply chain issues remain a challenge for the industry which is impacting the ability to meet the growing demand. We are hopeful that the situation improves sooner than later so that the demand-supply equation can be more balanced,” said Yuichi Murata, director, marketing and sales, Honda Cars India.

Skoda Auto India’s brand director Zac Hollis said it is heartening to see that a sedan (Slavia) is helping the company climb peak after peak in sales. “The Slavia is a resounding success, while the Kushaq SUV continues finding newer homes. All of us at Skoda Auto India and our partners have been doubling our efforts in expanding our network, increasing customer touchpoints, penetrating markets we were not present in, and being closer and more accessible to our customers,” he said.