June Car Sales Fell 18% in India

Demand in India for passenger cars, SUV/crossovers and light vans dropped 18% to 225,700 units in June, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

It was the eighth consecutive month of declining wholesale volume. Year-on-year factory shipments have now shrunk by at least 20% in the past three months.

“We cannot survive for long,” warns SIAM chief Rajan Wadhera, who also heads the automotive business unit of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

SIAM is calling for government relief as carmakers continue to cut production. Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., with a 51% market share, has lowered its output with short factory shutdowns in each of the last five months.

Analysts attribute the slump to higher vehicle prices, a cooling India economy and a tight borrowing market brought on by last year’s default of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, a large non-bank lender in India.