Two-Wheeler Sales Down 21% In Diwali 2020: FADA
Total auto retail sales across categories declined 19.29% to 18,27,990 units last month: FADA
Automobile dealers' body FADA on Tuesday said passenger vehicle retail sales in November witnessed a year-on-year increase of 4.17% to 2,91,001 units as Diwali-Dhanteras period led to rise in vehicle registrations.
According to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations, which collected vehicle registration data from 1,265 out of the 1,472 regional transport offices (RTOs), passenger vehicle sales stood at 2,79,365 units in November 2019.
BloombergQuint had earlier reported that passenger car sales at dealerships jumped to the highest in nearly three years during the festival period. At that time, registrations data showed an over 2.6% increase in sales in this category year-on-year.
According to FADA data based on updated registrations, two-wheeler sales declined 21.4% to 14,13,378 units last month, as compared to 17,98,201 units in November 2019.
Commercial vehicle sales also slipped 31.22% to 50,113 units, as against 72,863 units a year ago.
Similarly, three-wheeler sales fell 64.98% to 24,185 units last month, from 69,056 units in the year-ago period.
Tractor sales, however, grew by 8.47% to 49,313 units last month, against 45,462 units in the same month last year.
Total sales across categories declined 19.29% to 18,27,990 units last month, compared to 22,64,947 units in the year-ago period.
"While registrations during Navratri were tepid, people came out in good numbers to purchase their dream vehicles during the Dhanteras-Diwali period," FADA President Vinkesh Gulati said.
New launches and specially compact SUVs continued to show good demand in the passenger vehicle segment, he added.
The two-wheeler segment continued to witness a shift from 100cc to 125cc and above category due to good harvesting coupled with Dhanteras-Diwali and marriage season, Gulati said.
Commenting on small goods commercial vehicles, he said the segment continued to see good demand with increased level of transportation and last-mile connectivity needs.
With schools and colleges continuing to remain closed, demand for buses remains weak. Similarly, the medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) segment continues to play spoilsport with excessive capacity, high prices of BS-VI models, finance issues and high fuel price, Gulati noted.
"FADA once again urges the government to increase infrastructure spending, including timely payment to vendors and introduce attractive incentive based scrappage policy to revive the M&HCV segment," he added.
On sales outlook, Gulati said with the festive season coming to a close, demand revival now solely depends on year-end schemes.
"If the supply chain issues in the passenger vehicle segment are controlled, we may see continued growth in December," he added.
Gulati also cautioned the two-wheeler Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEMs) and dealers to keep a check on vehicle inventory as post festivals, demand may remain subdued.