Automobile retail sales grow 12% to 42.88 lakh units in festive period: FADA

Automobile retail sales in India rose 12 per cent year-on-year to 42,88,248 units in the 42-day-long festive period this year, dealer's body FADA said on Friday. The overall automotive registrations in the festive period of the last year stood at 38,37,040 units.

"We witnessed a remarkable surge in numbers since the beginning of Navratri, nearly hitting our forecasted target with 42.88 lakh vehicles registered during this period's growth of 11.76 per cent over the last year's 38.37 lakh units," FADA president CS Vigneshwar said.

Passenger vehicle retail increased by 7 per cent to 6,03,009 units in the festive period this year against 5,63,059 units in the same period last year.

Passenger vehicles bounced back after a lull, spurred by pent-up demand and unprecedented discounts available in the market, Vigneshwar said.

"While we celebrate these achievements, we acknowledge that we could have fully met or even exceeded our targets of 45 lakh units if not for the unseasonal heavy rains in South India, especially in Bengaluru and Tamil Nadu, and the Cyclone Dana that affected Odisha." Passenger vehicle stock levels will reduce further. However, FADA advises caution as the complete picture of inventory will emerge by month-end, Vigneshwar said.

Two-wheeler registrations increased 14 per cent year-on-year to 33,11,325 units in the 42-day period this year compared to 29,10,141 units last year.

Two-wheeler sales were largely driven by strong rural demand, Vigneshwar noted.

The festive period ranged this year from Navratri to 15 days post Dhanteras due to the time lag for vehicle registration, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said.

During the period, commercial vehicle retails rose 1 per cent year-on-year to 1,28,738 units.

Three-wheeler sales, on the other hand, increased 7 per cent to 1,59,960 units in the festive period this year.

However, tractor sales declined 2 per cent year-on-year to 85,216 units from 86,640 units in the year-ago period.

With one and half months remaining before the calendar year ends, FADA urges OEMs to focus on liquidating 2024 stock so that dealers can enter 2025 with an ideal 21 days of inventory, Vigneshwar stated.

"Looking ahead, the auto industry is yet to fully benefit from a government push in infrastructure spending, which we expect will bolster commercial vehicle sales," he noted.

Additionally, tractors should perform better, supported by good rainfall and the government's increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of crops, putting more money into farmers' hands, he added.

FADA said the vehicle retail data was collated from 1,368 out of 1,430 RTOs across the country.