India’s automobile exports surge while domestic demand remains low

The Dollar Business Bureau | @TheDollarBiz   India’s automobile exports in April-July 2014 grew by a robust 23.17% compared to the same period last year, driven by exports of commercial vehicles and two-wheelers. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), in April-July 2014, exports of commercial vehicles grew by around 19.78% and two-wheelers by 32.72%. Exports of other segments also grew: passenger vehicles by 3.84%, and three-wheelers by 5.27%. However, domestic sales remained low. According to SIAM, while the sales of passenger vehicles grew by 2.53% in April-July 2014 over the same period last year, sales of commercial vehicles continued to decline for the 28^th month in a row in July 2014. According to SIAM domestic sales of commercial vehicles declined around 15.51% in April – July 2014. However, three-wheelers and two-wheelers sales grew 15% and 13% respectively in April-July 2014. India’s automobile industry produced a 1,998,877 vehicles in July 2014, which is up about 15.6% from 1,728,974 units produced in July 2013. Industry players say that extension of excise duty cuts until December 2014 is likely to help India’s automobile sector recover in the domestic market. India produces around 2 crore automobile units annually, of which around 14% is shipped out of the country.