India Oct vehicle output rises 14.4%; sales up 22.4%

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–India produced 2.28m vehicles in October, up by 14.4% from the same period a year earlier, industry data showed on Tuesday.

Production of passenger vehicles rose by 22.4% year on year to 296,359 units, according to data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Two-wheelers accounted for 80.3%, or 1.83m units, of the total vehicle output for the month, the data showed.

Domestic sales of all vehicles rose by 13.9% year on year to 2.04m units in October, with exports down by 5.56% at 289,309 units, SIAM said.

Vehicle production is a key indicator of the strength of the chemical industry, especially for polymers such as acrylonitrile-butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate (PC) and nylon. Butyl acetate is used for paints and coatings in the automotive sector, while styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) is used in tyre production.

On average, each automobile contains $3,297 worth of chemicals, based on estimates from the American Chemistry Council (ACC).

The automotive industry is a major global consumer of petrochemicals which contribute more than a third of the raw material costs of an average vehicle. ICIS tracks the movement of petrochemical raw material costs in auto production both globally and regionally with the weighted ICIS Basket of Automotive Petrochemicals (IBAP).

ICIS has launched a Global Automotive report covering the major automotive chemicals markets, and auto-industry and macroeconomic trends. For more information on the report and details on how to subscribe, please email automotive@icis.com

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