Auto firms kick-start Navratri with higher deliveries than last year

Number could have been higher had it not been a Saturday, say dealers. Last day of the week seen as inauspicious by many and people tend to avoid buying items made of iron

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic blues, the first day of Navratri brought cheer to automobile companies, with most seeing a higher delivery of cars than they did last year.

The deliveries could have been more had it not been a Saturday, company officials and dealers said.

Many consider the last day of the week inauspicious and people tend to avoid purchasing items made of iron.

Market leader Maruti Suzuki India delivered 10,500 cars on the first day of the festival, said Shashank Srivastava, executive director (sales and marketing). This was 34.6 per cent higher than last year.

Srivastava said one shouldn’t be reading too much into these numbers. While they do give a broad sense of the mood, these are merely delivery numbers, and sales or invoicing would have happened over the past few days.

“While some people wait for the first day of the festival to take delivery, others do so for the invoicing to be done on the first day,” he said. Also, last year’s low base is making this year’s numbers look impressive.

The maker of the Vitara and the WagonR models sold 7,800 units in 2019 and 11,500 in 2018, he said.

It was an equally good start for Hyundai Motor India.

Tarun Garg, director (sales and marketing), said: “Day One was extremely good and we expect deliveries to pick up further from Monday, as it will be the first working day of Navratri.”

Hyundai delivered over 6,000 cars in the past couple of days. “A lot of people do not buy or take delivery of items made of iron. Still, close to 3,000 cars were sold. We see this going up to 4,500 to 5,000 every day from Monday onwards,” said Garg.

Other carmakers said the trend had been positive. A spokesperson for Tata Motors said the numbers had been impressive. “We have doubled from last year’s Navratra (first day) sales.”

The maker of the Nexon and the Tiago brands has seen strong sales in the past few months. Its sales in the first half of the financial year grew 10 per cent year-on-year.

Kia Motors, which has also been growing its sales steadily since entering the market, delivered 1,500 cars, against 900 it did last year on the first day of the festival.

Pune-based Bajaj Auto retailed 8,832 units on the first day, up 37 per cent over last year, said an official.

The numbers of other two-wheeler companies were not available immediately.

Led by factors such as pent-up demand and preference for personal mobility, hopes of a bright festive season are high in the auto business. This time around, the 45-day period, which ends with Diwali next month, is more critical in the auto companies’ calendars as they try to recoup the volume loss of the first quarter.

The festive season accounts for 15-20 per cent sales for car firms and close to a third for two-wheeler companies.

Sales of passenger vehicles rose 26 per cent in September, driving past the pre-Covid levels, as companies stepped up despatches to dealers ahead of the festive season.

However, the overall volumes in the first half of the financial year remain in negative terrain.