Auto dealers in India remain upbeat: Sewells' study

The Sewells Group has released the results of its Automotive Dealer Confidence Index (ADCI) survey for India for the end of July-September 2015 quarter. The overall ADCI continued to increase from +7 at the end of April-June 2015 quarter to +14 at the end of July-September 2015 quarter. This is the second quarter in a row where the overall ADCI has shown a positive movement.

The survey was conducted in the beginning of September 2015, in which 184 dealers participated from 123 cities, representing 20 brands across passenger car, two-wheeler and commercial vehicle categories.

The key highlights from the survey are as follows:

-  The passenger car index has increased slightly from +14 at the end of April-May 2015 quarter to +16 at the end of Jun-Sep 2015 quarter.

-  The two-wheeler index has shown a sharp increase from +9 at the end of April-June 2015 quarter to +14 at the end of Jul-Sep 2015 quarter.

-  The commercial vehicle index, though still negative, has jumped from -27 at the end of April-June 2015 quarter to -4 at the end of July-September 2015 quarter showing some signs of improvement.

-  The overall ADCI has shown an increase because of the positive movement in all the three segments. The overall ADCI has increased from +7 at the end of April-June quarter to +14 at the end of July-September quarter.

According to chairman and CEO of Sewells Group India, Pradeep Saxena, “The festive and marriage seasons always plays an important role in the automotive retail business in India. The festive season generally brings about a wave of optimism amongst dealers. This was seen during the same period last year also. However, the difference with last year is that the index has been positive for two consecutive quarters now. Let’s hope that the index continues this trend for rest of the year as well.”