India’s domestic passenger vehicle sales fell 30.9% in July, an auto industry body said on Tuesday, marking a ninth straight decline in monthly sales amid a deepening crisis in the autos sector that has triggered massive job losses.
The country’s automakers sold a total of 200,790 passenger vehicles in July, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). The data also showed that domestic passenger vehicle production was down nearly 17% in the month.
Slumping sales of cars and motorcycles are triggering massive job cuts in India’s auto sector, with many companies forced to shut down factories for days and axe shifts.
The cull has been so extensive that one senior industry source told Reuters that initial estimates suggest that automakers, parts manufacturers and dealers have laid off about 350,000 workers since April.
The fallout from the auto slump could be huge. The sector employs more than 35 million people directly and indirectly, accounting for nearly half of India’s manufacturing output.
Dealers are still hopeful of tiding over the current downturn as the broader growth story for India remains intact, but there could be a lot more pain before a recovery kicks in.