India’s car sales see record monthly drop in August

Bloomberg

Car sales in India suffered their biggest monthly drop on record, as the slump in the country’s auto sector shows no sign of letting up.
Deliveries slid 41% in August from a year earlier to 115,957 units, while sales of passenger vehicles including SUVs fell 32%, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers on Monday. Truck and bus sales dropped 39%, and two-wheeler sales — a key indicator of demand in rural India — fell 22% to 1.5 million units.
The automobile sector is a key part of Asia’s third-largest economy, employing millions of people directly or indirectly and contributing more than 7% to the nation’s gross domestic product, according to McKinsey & Co. Slowing income growth for farmers in rural India has contributed to a fall in sales.
Companies from Suzuki Motor Corp.’s local unit to Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. have cut production and laid off workers to cope with the slowdown. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration has lifted a ban on new vehicle purchases by state-run departments and offered other concessions.

Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari last week said he’ll convey a demand for a lower levy on petrol and diesel vehicles to the finance minister.