Positive consumer sentiments drive automobile dispatches rise 12% in 2024: Report

Automobile dispatches from companies to dealers rose 12% last year compared to 2023 on the back of positive consumer sentiments which aided robust demand for two-wheelers, industry body SIAM said on Tuesday.

Total wholesales across categories rose to 2.55 crore units in 2024 against 2.28 crore units in 2023, a growth of 11.6%.

"2024 has been reasonably good for the auto industry. Positive consumer sentiments and the country's macroeconomic stability helped in propelling reasonable growth for the sector across vehicle segments," Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) President Shailesh Chandra said in a statement.

Last year, the growth was primarily driven by the two-wheeler segment which grew by 14.5% in 2024 over a year ago, he added.

Dispatches of scooters, bikes and models rose by 14.5% to 1.95 crore units in 2024 compared to 1.71 crore units a year ago, the statement said.

Scooter sales rose 20% year-on-year to 66.75 lakh units in 2023.

Motorcycle dispatches on the other hand witnessed a growth of 12% year-on-year to 1.24 crore units in the previous year.

Chandra noted that passenger vehicles and three-wheelers posted their highest-ever sales in a calendar year.

Passenger vehicles grew by 4% in 2024 compared to 2023, with sales of around 43 lakh units, he noted.

Similarly, three-wheelers posted a growth of 7% in 2024 with sales of 7.3 lakh units.

However, commercial vehicles posted a slight dip of 3% in 2024 compared to the preceding year, posting sales of 9.5 lakh units, though signs of growth are visible in Q3 of 2024-25, Chandra said.

"The stable policy ecosystem of the Government of India in 2024, carrying on from the previous years, has helped the industry. As the new year commences with a positive sentiment being created through the Bharat Mobility Global Expo, this momentum would further propel growth in 2025," he added.

In December last year, passenger vehicle dispatches to dealers rose 10% to 3.15 lakh units against 2.86 lakh units in December 2023.

Two-wheeler dispatches, however, witnessed a 9% decline at 11.06 lakh units over 12.12 lakh units in December 2023.

Three-wheeler dispatches rose to 52,733 units last month from 50,947 units in December 2023, SIAM said.

In the October-December quarter, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles and three-wheelers posted their highest-ever sales of Q3, SIAM Director General Rajesh Menon said.

Passenger vehicles grew by 4.5% in Q3 of 2024-25 with sales of 1.06 million units compared to the previous year, he stated.

Three-wheeler sales grew marginally in the third quarter of 2024-25, with sales of 1.89 lakh units while two-wheeler dispatches grew by 3 per cent in the quarter, against the previous year, posting sales of 4.9 million units, Menon said.

Commercial vehicles grew by 1% in Q3 from the same period of last fiscal, with sales of 2.38 lakh units, he said.