July Car Sales Drop 31% in India

Passenger vehicle sales in India plummeted 31% to 200,800 units last month, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers reports. It was the biggest monthly drop in 18 years.

SIAM says demand for commercial vehicles last month fell 26% to 56,900 trucks and buses.

Car sales through the first seven months of 2019 fell 13% to 1.76 million vehicles. The market’s contraction has already cost at least 15,000 jobs, mainly among suppliers. Carmakers are trimming production temporarily and have closed more than 300 dealerships.

India’s economic growth is at a five-year low, and unemployment has zoomed to a 45-year high, Bloomberg News reports. It says India is likely to announce a stimulus plan later this week in a bid to rev up the country’s economy.