India's automobile retail sales surged to a record high this festive season that lasted for 42 days, dealers' body FADA revealed on Tuesday. The figures were collated using vehicle registration data from 1,355 out of 1,442 RTOs.
The festive period starts from the first day of Navratri and ends 15 days after Dhanteras. Going by that, the festive period in 2023 began on October 15 and ended on November 25, while in 2022, it was between September 26 and November 6.
Overall sales rose 19 per cent to 37,93,584 units in the period compared to 31,95,213 units the previous year. SUVs reportedly saw the highest sales during the festive period. Except tractors, all segments reported year-on-year growth, according to the dealers' association. FADA India represents over 15,000 automobile dealerships with more than 30,000 outlets across the country.
The passenger vehicle retail sales rose 10 per cent to 5,47,246 units during the festive period up from 4,96,047 units last year. Commercial vehicle sales rose 8 per cent year-on-year to 1,23,784 units in the 42-day window.
"Despite initial underperformance during Navratri, particularly in the passenger vehicle sector, the situation improved by Diwali, ending with a 10 per cent growth rate," PTI quoted Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) President Manish Raj Singhania as saying.
Registrations of two-wheelers jumped 21 per cent from 23,96,665 units in 2022 to 28,93,107 units this year. "Record-breaking sales were reported in several categories, with rural areas particularly contributing to the surge in two-wheeler purchases," Singhania added.
Forty-one per cent more three-wheelers were registered this year with the number of units leaping from 1,01,052 vehicles to 1,42,875.
Though a marginal dip, sales of tractors slumped from 86,951 units to 86,572 units. "Tractors, which saw 8.3 per cent decrease in sales during Navratri, made a remarkable recovery, ending the festive period with only a 0.5 per cent decline," the FADA chief was quoted as saying.