High inventory of affordable cars worry dealers ahead of festive season

Due to sluggish demand for entry-level models, dealers are concerned about their investment.

Published On Sep 03, 2023 09:00:00 AM

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High inventory of affordable cars worry dealers ahead of festive season

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As dealerships look to sell more cars in the upcoming festive season, they’re running into two major problems. The first is that the passenger vehicle inventory build-up is expected to reach a four-year high by the end of August. The second is that almost 60 percent of new car stocks are entry-level models, where demand is quite saturated right now.

Dealers may offer greater discounts on small cars to avoid inventory build-up
Rural economy still in doldrums; affected sales of entry-level cars & bikes
Maruti claims chip shortage has resulted in more small cars being produced

While high inventory ahead of the festive season is a normal trend, in these times, when there is a sluggish demand for entry-level models in the domestic market, dealers are a bit concerned about their investment. Although retail sales of cars are expected to see a modest 3-4 percent growth in the month of August, demand in the small car segment remained subdued, with discounts inching up further.

FADA cautions against overstuffing dealerships

At the beginning of August, new car stocks at the dealerships were at 2,94,000 units, which is expected to increase to 3,10,000 units by the end of the month. According to the apex dealer body, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations of India (FADA), the current car inventory build-up has surpassed September 2019 levels by almost 8 percent.

“Dealers are piling up the inventories in view of good expectations for the festive season. The Onam celebration started on August 20, and (the festive season) will extend until the middle of November. What is concerning for us is the higher accumulation of entry-level cars in every OEM, which are not in very high demand. Currently, 60 percent of the overall car and two-wheeler stocks are entry-level models. We don't mind 40-50 days of stock build-up, but we mind overstuffing the dealerships with slow-moving models,” Manish Raj Singhania, FADA president, told our sister publication Autocar Professional.

Worse, the rural economy is not out of the woods yet. Rural consumption dropped to a six quarter low of 2.8 percent year-on-year in Q1FY24, as against 7.9 percent in Q1FY23. This clearly dragged down demand for entry-level cars and two-wheelers, and even tractor sales, in the hinterland during the April-July period.

Maruti Suzuki confirms greater discounts for small cars

When asked about the spike in small car stocks, Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, Maruti Suzuki India, opined that the stock of smaller cars is definitely on the higher side, but that does not mean that they are selling less. “The production of hatchbacks has been higher than demand. Because of the semiconductor shortage, we are unable to manufacture cars like the Grand Vitara, Brezza, Jimny, and Fronx. We produced more small cars than what was required by the market,” he added. He further noted that discount levels were also higher for the smaller cars, which is a correlation between how much a company is producing, and market demand.

Maruti Suzuki inventory days increased from 30 to 40

Analysts at ICICI Securities opine that cumulative inventory addition for key passenger vehicle players – like Maruti Suzuki and Mahindra – during the April-July period stood at 84 percent of July retails, implying limited scope to add more inventory in August and September. “Our channel checks indicate inventory days have increased from 30 days in June to about 40 days at present for large Maruti Suzuki dealers, and, with the festive season starting in October this year, we do not expect further stocking until September,” the ICICI Securities report said.

Two-wheeler stocks are at satisfactory levels

As per analysts at ICICI, the majority of prime two-wheeler players have also reduced inventory in the preceding four months. This suggests a good scope to improve wholesales in this month as a run-up to the festive season, and peak in November. At present, two-wheeler dealers have a stock of 20-25 days, which is at a comfortable level.

"Our channel checks tell us inventory days at dealerships of TVS, Bajaj, Royal Enfield, and Hero MotoCorp are under reasonable control in August, providing scope for better wholesales prior to retail demand spiking in October. Average monthly two-wheeler retails for all these markets combined were up 10 percent in April-July, as compared to the previous four months, as well as the same period of FY23,” analysts added.

FADA president noted that the association has been urging the government to cut the GST on entry-level 100cc-150cc bikes to 18 percent from the current 28 percent. “The cost of acquisition has gone up for entry-level motorcycles by 45-50 percent, impacting their affordability for consumers across India. Sales of such models come predominantly from rural India, which is not performing well. Lowering the GST rate will enhance sales and revenue for the industry,” Singhania added.

Shruti Mishra, Autocar Professional

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