Despite the government relaxing curbs on businesses and individuals to spur economic activity after four-month Covid-19 lockdown, India's car sales slumped by nearly half in June against a year earlier. The second-year slump in new sales will affect short- to medium-term demand for motor fuels.
Suzuki, India's largest auto producer, posted a 54 percent fall in domestic passenger vehicle sales in June. Hyundai, the country's second-largest producer, saw sales fall by 49 percent.
Toyota, which mainly sells sports utility vehicles in India, posted a 64 percent drop in sales. Passenger car sales totalled around 117,000 vehicles in June with Suzuki accounting for around 51,000 and Hyundai 21,000.
Tata Motors and Jaguar said that sales of passenger vehicles fell by 14 percent in June from a year earlier. Mahindra & Mahindra reported a 57 percent drop in passenger vehicle sales and a 36 percent slump in commercial vehicle sales. Mahindra Tractors' sales rose by 12 percent last month from a year earlier, while Escorts Tractors increased its sales by 23 percent.
The IMF forecasts India's GDP to contract by 4.5 percent in 2020 but expand by 6 percent in 2021 compared with 4.2 percent growth in 2019.
