India's March passenger vehicle sales jump, industry body warns of uncertainty

India`s total domestic passenger vehicle sales rose 115.2% in March, data from an auto industry body showed on Monday, but it warned that the COVID-19 pandemic had set back an already bruised auto industry by many years.

The Indian auto sector was already facing a demand slowdown when the government imposed a nationwide lockdown in March last year to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

"On the sales front, a deep structural slowdown in the industry even before the pandemic, combined with the impact of COVID-19 in 2020-21, has pushed all vehicle segments back by many years," Kenichi Ayukawa, president of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said.

India`s COVID-19 cases continue to rise relentlessly, overtaking Brazil on Monday to become the second-worst affected country globally.

The state of Maharashtra, home to the country`s financial capital Mumbai, is considering a lockdown and could take a final decision this week, a senior government official said.

Ayukawa also warned of uncertainty in the value chain due to a shortage of semiconductors, lockdowns and high raw material costs.

Sales of passenger cars, sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and vans rose to 290,939 units in March from 135,196 units a year ago, SIAM data showed.

Two-wheeler sales, considered an indicator of the health of the rural economy, rose nearly 73% to 1.5 million units in March, data showed.

But for the financial year April-March, passenger vehicles sales fell 2.24% to 2.7 million units.