Auto sales up 48% in Oct; all vehicle segments gain in festive season: FADA

Two-wheeler segment up 51%; high demand continues for SUVs and premium cars

Vehicle retail sales got a festive boost to rise 48 per cent in October compared to the same month last financial year, according to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA).

As many as 20,94,378 vehicles were sold in October, compared to 14,18,726 units the same month last year. October sales this year was 8 per cent higher than the 19,33,484 units sold the same month in 2019.

“With most of the month under festive period, the sentiments were extremely positive across all categories of dealership outlets. Even when compared to pre-covid month of 2019, overall retails for the first time closed in green by growing 8 per cent,” said Manish Raj Singhania, FADA’s president.

In October 2022, two-wheeler sales increased by 51 per cent, three-wheeler by 66 per cent, passenger vehicles (PV) by 41 per cent, tractors by 17 per cent and commercial vehicles (CV) by 25 per cent. “Festive’22 brings cheers to the Auto Industry as for the first time customers of every category came out in good numbers and took part in festive purchases thus making it the best in last four years,” said Singhania in FADA’s statement.

The PV segment grew 1 per cent year-on-year to 3,28,645 units and 18 per cent compared to 2019. The segment continues to see high demand, especially for sport utility vehicles and compact SUVs. With better vehicle availability and new launches, the segment witnessed the best festive period in a decade by surpassing 2020 festival sales by 2 per cent.

The CV segment posted a growth of 25 per cent and 13 per cent compared to 2019. “Festivities ignited better fleet sales. With Mining and Infrastructure projects increasing in various regions, demand has been keeping well and is also coming back on track,” Singhania said.

Tractor sales during the month saw an increase to 53,362 in October 2022, up 17 per cent from 45,445 units in October 2021. Two-wheeler sales increased to 15,71,165 units during the period, up 51 per cent from 10,39,845 units. Three wheeler sales during the period under review increased by 66 per cent to 66,763 units compared to last year.

During the 42-day festive period, vehicle sales increased by 29 per cent to 28,88,131, up from 22,42,139 units last year. Sales numbers were positive in all the segments including two-wheelers (26 per cent), three-wheelers (68 per cent), CVs (29 per cent), passenger vehicles (34 per cent) and tractors (30 per cent), compared to the festive season last year.  

“With festivities ending, the immediate next month generally witnesses a certain amount of softness in sales. While farmers will start receiving their crop realisations, the overall sentiment continues to show some headwinds especially in the 2W rural segment. For auto retails to show strength, the 2W segment will have to grow for at least 3-4 months over pre-covid months to come out of the woods,” said FADA.