India outran Japan in automotive sales last year for the first time and became third largest auto market in the world, according to Nikkei Asia on Friday. The country's sales of new vehicles accounted to at least 4.25 million units, topping the 4.2 million sold in Japan.
Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers stated that new vehicle delivered in India totaled 4.13 million between January and November 2022. Adding December's sales volume reported on Sunday by Maruti Suzuki, India's largest carmaker, brings the total to roughly 4.25 million units, as per ANI reports.
India's sales volume is expected to further rise with the inclusion of pending fourth-quarter sales figures for commercial vehicles, along with year-end results yet to be released by Tata Motors and other automakers.
China continued to lead the global automotive segment in 2021 with 26.27 million vehicles sold. The US gained second position at 15.4 million vehicles, followed by Japan at 4.44 million units.
Around 4.4 million vehicles were sold in India in 2018 but the volume dipped below 4 million in 2019, primarily due to the credit crunch that hit the nonbank sector that year. It further plummeted below 3-million mark in 2020 due to Covid-associated lockdown.
Sales recovered in 2021 and approached four million units, but the deficit of automotive chips weighed on growth, ANI reported.
According to the Nikkei Asia, gasoline powered vehicles, including hybrid vehicles, accounted for most of the new autos sold in India last year. It added that electric vehicles hardly have a presence and autos for the Indian market are seen having fewer semiconductors than those sold in advanced economies. The report also stated that the relaxations in the automotive chip crunch in 2022 provided an opportunity for a recovery. Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors and other Indian automotive manufacturers experienced growth in sales last year.
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