Car sales slow in July on high base

Passenger car sales, which had a stellar run since January 2018 on the back of new launches and a recovery in rural demand, saw a slowdown in July because of a high base in the same month last year and a planned inventory reduction by auto makers ahead of the launch of new models and refreshes during the festive season beginning later this month. A nationwide transporters’ strike in mid-July also impacted production and distribution of vehicles. Auto makers in India consider dispatches to dealerships as sales. India’s top five carmakers, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Hyundai Motor India Ltd, Honda Cars India Ltd, Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd and Tata Motors Ltd, collectively sold 236,947 units during the month, up 1.14% from 233,643 units a year ago.