Festive season, discounts push up 14% car sales in March

PUNE: Passenger vehicle retail sales in the country rose by 14 per cent year-on-year in March riding on the back of festive season demand and the transition to a new on-board emission system, called OBD2A (Bharat Stage 2 emission) norms, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations or FADA  said on Tuesday.

Significantly, except for tractors, all categories saw double-digit growth, with 2-wheelers, 3-wheelers, and commercial vehicles growing by 12 per cent, 69 per cent, and 10 per cent, respectively. Tractors, however, grew by 4 per cent.

“Better supplies, coupled with better sales (of PVs), though at the upper end of the spectrum, kept the meter ticking. This, along with the increase in prices of OBD 2A vehicles, and multiple festivals in the month kept the sales healthy, though inquiry levels have now started decreasing,” FADA president Manish Raj Singhania said.

FADA said the domestic passenger vehicle registrations rose to 3,35,266 units last month, up from 2,93,016 units in March 2022.

While two-wheeler retail sales jumped to 14,45,867 in March, up from 12,86,109 units in the year-ago period, the commercial vehicle registrations rose to 92,790 units, up from 84,124 units in March last year.

Three-wheeler retail sales increased to 86,857 units in March.

Tractor registrations last month rose to 81,607 units, up from 78,070 units in March 2022.

Total registrations last month rose to 20,41,847 units in March, up 14 per cent from 17,92,802 units in the year-ago period.

For the fiscal year ended March 2023, the passenger vehicle registrations rose by 23 per cent to 36,20,039 units, as against 29,42,273 units in 2021-22.

Two-wheelers' retails jumped by 19 per cent to 1,59,95,968 units in FY23 as compared to 1,34,94,214 units in 2021-22.

Commercial vehicle retails rose 33 per cent, three-wheelers retail was up 84 per cent and tractor registrations saw an 8 per cent rise year-on-year last fiscal.

Total sales increased by 21 per cent to 2,21,50,222 units last fiscal as compared to 1,83,27,326 units in FY22.

With the high growth period now over, FADA said FY24 will witness a tapered growth in low single digit due to a high base, inflationary pressures, routine price hikes, and regulatory changes.