PV retail sales up 34 pc in January: FADA

Automobile dealers' body FADA Thursday said passenger vehicle (PV) retail sales in January increased by 33.97 per cent to 2,71,395 units as manufacturers continued to dole out year-end offers last month as well.

According to Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), which collected vehicle registration data from 1,081 out of the 1,437 regional transport offices (RTOs), PV sales stood at 2,02,585 units in December 2018.

"As predicted, healthy inquiry levels seen in December finally showed signs of conversions with the year-end offers continuing in January, especially by passenger vehicle OEMs which has helped the customer in making the final purchase," FADA President Ashish Harsharaj Kale said in a statement.

Consumer interest, which had remained buoyant, has slowly but surely started converting to sales in better percentages, he added.

"Overall positivity compared to the previous months, backed by good retail offerings, has helped PV sales. New launches in the month also added to the overall excitement and got the attention of the buyer," Kale said.

In the two-wheeler category, FADA said retail sales stood at 11,89,679 units in January as against 11,41,209 units in December, up 4.25 per cent
On the outlook for the next few months, FADA said it is hopeful of uptick in retail vehicle sales driven by a positive interim budget