India’s Automobile Sales Results in YTD June 2022

Automobile sales in India in the first half of 2022 (SIAM members only) increased 21.6% year-on-year to 2.3 million units, surpassing the past five years’ record high level of 2.25 million units of the first half of 2018. Strong sales are attributed to rising consumer desire to purchase automobiles again due to the recovery of business confidence. The chairman of India’s Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations revealed at a press conference in July 2022 that wholesales from automobile manufacturers are increasing, and the supply disruption of semiconductors is improving. Positive factors for the future include long order backlogs due to supply disruptions and a high level of willingness to purchase. On the other hand, there are concerns such as a rise in loan interest rates due to the policy rate hike by the Central Bank of India, but unless supply chain disruptions worsen again, there is a good chance that interest rates will approach the level of 2018, the most recent peak.