Auto sales at 16-yr low in December, housing sales fall 44 per cent

Monthly automobile sales growth rate in India slipped to a 16-year-low in December with total vehicle sales declining by 18.66 per cent as demonetisation hits the industry hard.

According to latest SIAM data, most of the major segments, including scooters, motorcycles and cars, witnessed record decline December sales as the automobile sector continued to bear the brunt of negative consumer sentiments in the wake of the ban of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 banknotes announced in November.

Vehicle sales across categories registered a decline of 18.66 per cent last month at 12,21,929 units, from 15,02,314 units in December 2015, as per Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

“This is the highest decline across all categories since December 2000, when there was a drop of 21.81 per cent in sales. The reason is largely due to the negative consumer sentiment in the market due to demonetisation,” SIAM Director General Vishnu Mathur told reporters here.

Except for the light commercial vehicles segment, which saw a growth of 1.15 per cent at 31,178 units, all the other categories of the industry saw decline in sales in December, he added.

 Meanwhile, the housing market also came to a “complete standstill” during October-December 2016 on the adverse impact of demonetisation as sales fell by 44 per cent in the eight top cities, lowest level since 2010, resulting in Rs 22,600 crore revenue loss to the builders, according to Knight Frank.

The property consultant has pegged the state government’s notional loss on stamp duty at Rs 1,200 crore.

Housing sales in residential segment fell to 40,936 units in eight major cities during October-December 2016 from 72,933 units in the year-ago period and 68,734 units in the previous quarter, according to a report released by Knight Frank India. New home launches fell by 61 per cent to 24,316 units in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared with the year-ago period.