Auto registrations rose by 4 pc in October due to festive buying: FADA

Vehicle registrations across the country increased by nearly 4 per cent in October year-on-year due to buying in the festive season, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said on Tuesday.

Two-wheeler registrations totalled 13.34 lakh last month compared to 12.7 lakh in October last year, marking a jump of 5 per cent. Passenger vehicle registrations rose by 11 per cent to 2.48 lakh from 2.23 lakh in the year-ago period.

But commercial vehicles dropped by 23 per cent to 67,060 registrations versus 87,618 in October last year, data released by FADA showed. Only three-wheelers showed a marginal uptick of 4 per cent with 59,573 registrations in October 2019 compared to 57,455 in the year-ago period.

That took overall vehicle registrations to 17.09 lakh, up 4 per cent from 16.38 lakh in October 2018.

"Vehicle registrations finally showed a positive momentum with the biggest two festivals of Dussehra and Diwali being in the same month. Attractive offers boosted the overall positive mood of buyers," said FADA President Ashish Harsharaj Kale.

"FADA remains cautious for the near and mid-term post the festive seasons as BS-VI transition approaches and rural demand is yet to pick up due to extended and excessive monsoon," he said in a statement.

Last week, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) reported 12.76 per cent fall in domestic vehicle sales across all categories.

The automobile sector has been experiencing a slump for several months with nearly all manufacturers reporting falling sales due to subdued consumer sentiment amid an economic slowdown.

FADA India represents over 15,000 automobile dealers having 25,000 dealerships including 30 associations of automobile dealers at the regional, state and city levels accounting for 90 per cent of market share.

.