Photo: BloombergNew Delhi: Retail sales of passenger vehicles continue to decline in December after a subdued festival season in October and November, as customer sentiment across the country is yet to recover despite significant drop in fuel prices. According to the data released by the Federation of Automobile Manufacturers, a lobby group representing automobile dealers, sales of passenger vehicles dropped 3% year on year to 202,585 units in December. When compared sequentially, sales in the segment fell 7% despite manufacturers pruning their monthly production of vehicles and offering substantial discounts through dealers. With the liquidity crisis in the non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) translating into lack of credit for fleet owners, retail sales of commercial vehicles declined 15% 53,712 units during the month compared to November. Retail sales of passenger vehicles have been good in the last 15 days of December and the decline has been arrested.

Source: Mint January 08, 2019 08:15 UTC