Pulling away: Richest 5 states get 38% of all cars in first half of FY23

India's post-pandemic recovery appears to be shaping up like the letter K, widening the inequality among states. Part 2 of the series examines consumption, represented by passenger vehicle sales

Of the 1.4 million cars and sports utility vehicles registered in the first six months of 2022-23, as many as 0.54 million — 37.8 per cent — were in the five richest states of Delhi, Karnataka, Haryana, Telangana and Gujarat. The share of the poorest five — Odisha, Assam, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar – was 18.9 per cent, off the peak of 20.4 per cent in 2020-21.

With this, the richest five now register twice as many passenger vehicles as the poorest five, sharply higher than the ratio of 1.74 in 2020-21, according to data from the Vahan dashboard.