Unsold car inventory hits its lowest level since September 2019

Car inventory in India has gone down to its lowest level since September 2019. It is estimated that in just last three months, there has been a 3X jump in the unsold car inventory. The number of unsold cars has estimated jumped from 1 lakh in December 2019 to 3 lakh in March 2023. Tata Motors said that there is a crunch in the demand for passenger vehicles in the market.      
Car companies, on the other hand, feel that the situation is not alarming. They say that car inventory is at a reasonable level, and the current low levels are no cause for concern.  
However, in last few months, the cancellation rate of car bookings has increased two times more. It has gone from 10 per cent to 15-20 per cent during this period. There is also a drop in the bookings of new cars.
A cursory glance at the data on unsold inventory levels shows that in December 2022, 1 lakh units were unsold. The number ballooned to 1.8 lakh units in January 2023. The situation worsened in February, and as many as 2.3 lakh units remained unsold. The estimate for March is 3 lakh.
The trend was just opposite before December 2022, when the PV segment saw its highest-ever domestic volumes with 31.44 per cent growth in November from the year-ago month. Sports utility vehicles also saw a sharp rise in demand in November 2022, courtesy of better availability of semiconductors.