Sorry carmakers but rural India won’t buy cars till August

Indian auto sales chart in the month of May was not exciting for the industry.
 
After registering a robust growth in April 2016—aided by the marriage season—industry expected better growth. May sales, however, were a reality check. 
 
Car sales volume declined by over 3% to stand at 9,85,158 units, from a growth of 16.24% in April 2016.
 
Rural market has been a concern as sales continue to fall.

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In May, except light commercial vehicles (LCV) segment that recorded a 17% growth, all else faced the pressure.
 
However, analysts remain optimistic as they believe growth to commence during the August - September period, with the onset of the monsoon season. 
 
With the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting a good monsoon and the bounty after the implementation of 7th Pay Commission expected to come up in the coming months, it is only in August or later that carmakers can expect good sales in rural India.
 
Moreover, May saw the sales of utility vehicles increasing all over.
 
The domestic leaders such as Maruti Suzuki India sold 13,596 units as against 5,567 units in May 2015.
 
Mahindra & Mahindra’s (M&M) sold a total of 18,648 UVs with a year on year growth of 10%.