Medium and heavy bus and coach market record worst year in decades
By Jim Gibbins - 3rd May 2021
India – Sales of large buses and coaches (>7.5t gvw) in the fiscal year 2020-21 (April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021) decreased sharply by 81.70% to 7,322 units from 40,016 units registered in the previous same fiscal year (2019-20). Total bus and coach production correspondingly shrank by 77.40% to 10,010 units in 2020-21, down from 44,289 units in the year of 2019-20.; while total bus and coach exports (>7.5t gvw), fared better than the domestic market in terms of percentage decrease, falling by 48.59% to 4,040 units (7,859).
Turning to the individual segments, domestic sales of ‘light’ medium-duty buses (ICV: 7.5 tonnes - 12 tonnes) fell starkly by 81.16% from 16,339 units in the previous fiscal year to 3,078 units in FY 2020-21. Export sales decreased during the y-ear to 1,884 units, down by 50.21% from 3,784 units sold abroad in the previous year; production fell sharply by 74% to 4,498 units from 17,300 units. All the manufacturers in this segment registered far fewer sales in FY 2020-21.
