New Delhi: Automobile dispatches from the factory to dealerships in India dipped by 23.4 per cent in February year-on-year due to semiconductor shortage and price rise, according to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) on Friday.

Total automobile wholesale in India stood at 13,28,027 units in February 2022 as against 17,35,909 units recorded in February 2021. This includes the sale of passenger vehicles, two-wheelers, and three-wheelers. The total wholesale of automobiles in February 2022 was 4.07 lakh units less when compared with the same month of last year.

Passenger vehicles sales stood at 262,984 units in February 2022 as against 281,380 units in February 2021, a decline of 6.53 per cent year-on-year.

Three-wheeler sales were 27,039 units in February 2022 as against 27,039 units in February 2021, a decline of 2.2 per cent.

Two-wheeler sales slumped by 27.25 per cent to 1,037,994 units in February 2022.

“Sales in the month of February 2022 have declined compared to February 2021, across passenger vehicle, two-wheeler, and three-wheeler categories,” Rajesh Menon, Director General, SIAM said in a statement.

“Continuing supply-side challenges like Semiconductor shortages, increase in cost due to new regulations, higher commodity prices, higher logistics cost have impacted overall sales in the auto industry. The industry is closely watching the possible impact of the on-going