Passenger vehicle sales dip in December on weak sentiment, unsold stock

An overall increase in cost of ownership, including a higher rate of interest on finance have weighed on buyer sentiment

Amid tepid sentiment and much of unsold stock, automobile companies ended the year on a muted note. 

Disappointing festive season sales and inventory stockpiling with dealers have prompted ratings agency CRISIL to pare its growth forecast for the Indian passenger vehicle (PV) industry by a hefty 200 basis points, to 7-9 per cent from the earlier 9-11 per cent.

In a bid to correct the mismatch between demand and supply, most companies had curtailed their despatches to dealers, show December sales data issued by some on Tuesday.  Auto companies in India count despatches to dealers as sales. 

Cumulative sales at the top six