Auto sales skid as chip shortage hits

New Delhi: Auto manufacturing giants including Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto and Hyundai Motors India all reported steep falls in sales for the month of September, as the auto industry was severely marred by global shortage of semiconductors.

Market leader Maruti Suzuki India registered 46.16 per cent fall in overall sales in September to 86,380 units as against 1,60,442 units for the same month in 2020. The automaker recorded fall in sales for second consecutive month with its sales falling by 8.71 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in August.

In September this year, Maruti Suzuki's domestic sales took a bigger hit with just 68,815 units sold, down by a whopping 55 per cent from 1,52,608 units in the same month a year ago. However, exports proved to be the saving grace for the automaker as it shipped 17,565 units to various country, more than two-fold jump from 7,834 units in September 2020.

In the passenger vehicle (PV) segment, Maruti reported sales of 63,111 units in September as against 150,040 units for the same month last year.

In a statement released on Thursday, Maruti Suzuki India reasoned that the company is expected to face adverse impact on vehicle production owing to supply constraint of electronic components due to the semiconductor shortage situation.

"Owing to a supply constraint of electronic components due to the semiconductor shortage situation, the Company is expecting an adverse impact on vehicle production in the month of October'21 in both Haryana and its contract manufacturing company, Suzuki Motor Gujarat (SMG) in Gujarat. Though the situation is quite dynamic, it is currently estimated that the total vehicle production volume across both locations could be around 60 per cent of normal production," the largest auto manufacturer in India has said that it took all possible measures to limit the adverse impact.

While mini passenger vehicles such as Alto and S-Presso registered 14,936 units sale in September 2021, compared to 27,246 units in September 2020, compact PV including WagonR, Swift, Celerio, Ignis, Baleno, Dzire, and Tour S sales touched 20,891 units last month, as against 84,213 units in September 2020.

Hyundai Motors too, has also attributed to the supply constraint of semi-conductors which has adversely affected the vehicle production resulting in low dispatches in the month of September this year.

According to the company, the domestic sales stood at 33 087 units, with export clocked in at 12,704 units for the month of September 2021. With a total sale of 45,791 units this September, as against 59,913 units in the same month in 2020, Hyundai has experienced an overall sales decline of 23.6 per cent.

Meanwhile, Bajaj Auto has reported 16 percent decline in domestic sales of two-wheelers and commercial vehicles from 228,731 units in September 2020 to 192,348 units in September 2021. The exports of the Pune based company has also declined by one per cent from 212,575 units last year September to 209,673 units in September 2021.

While the wo-wheeler domestic sales of Bajaj Autos stood at 173,945 units in September 2021 as tcompared to 219,500 units in the same month of 2020, thereby registering a dip of 21 percent. Sales of commercial vehicle, in the domestic market however, has increased by 99 per cent in September 2021 to 18,403 units compared to 9,231 units sold in the same month last year.

As opposed to the sales of Indian auto brands, Skoda Auto India has reported an increase of 131 per cent in its September 2021 sales, compared to the same period last year. According to the figures released by the company, Skoda India has sold 3,027 units in September 2021 as compared to 1,312 units sale in September 2020.

Zac Hollis, Brand Director, Škoda Auto India, said, "Škoda Auto has managed to consolidate and move forward in September, despite the headwinds that the industry is facing in terms of some key components. We are confident of building our momentum, as we approach the festive season, and look forward to delivering an increasing number of Škoda vehicles across the country."

The Czech auto manufacturer further stated that India continues to be an important market for Skoda globally, and the company is focussing on strengthening its presence here in the domestic market.