Auto sales recovery may not reflect correct picture, say experts

Auto sales — a key barometer of consumer demand — made a healthy recovery in July, but executives of automobile companies and dealers are still divided if there is an actual recovery in retail demand.

Carmakers in India report their dispatch to dealers as their monthly sales figures while globally most report retail sales based on registration data. India’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, said it had sold 108,000 units in July, 88.2 per cent more than June 2020, and 1.3 per cent more over July 2019.

But Shashank Srivastava, executive director, marketing and sales of Maruti, said he saw the