NEW DELHI: Searing heat across many parts of the country may be powering demand for ACs, cold drinks, and refrigerators, but has temporarily punctured the growth of car, SUV and two-wheeler companies as consumers stay away from dealerships to avoid extreme heat.
Companies such as Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, and Stellantis told TOI that consumer footfalls have declined as temperatures continue to stay harsh across many key cities, especially in north India.
Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association (FADA) has expressed concern over declining demand. “The soaring heat in north India has significantly impacted showroom footfalls, resulting in a decrease of approximately 15-16%. Extreme temperatures have deterred customers from venturing out, directly affecting our sales,” FADA president Manish Raj Singhania said.
Hyundai India COO Tarun Garg said the company is mindful of challenges posed by the heatwave. “To enhance convenience, we have extended our showroom hours and test drive availability into the late evenings,” he said.
Maruti also said that business is impacted. “Elections and scorching heat have impacted overall sales in May… the scorching heat has an impact on the northern zones because obviously in afternoon customers are not going to come and take a test drive,” Partho Banerjee, senior executive officer (marketing & sales) said.
The heat has also seen many potential customers of luxury cars travel abroad. “Many of our customers travel abroad during summer break or have alternate residences in the UK or US. That leads to lower showroom footfalls in May and June,” Mercedes India MD Santosh Iyer said.
Tata Motors MD Shailesh Chandra said the phenomenon is likely to “dampen the demand temporarily” in first quarter of this fiscal.