India's auto retail sales fell, with PVs down 10.34%, 2Ws by 6.33%, CVs by 8.6%, and tractors by 14.5%, while 3Ws saw a slight 2% dip
While the passenger vehicle (PV) segment saw the steepest drop of 10.34 per cent, the two-wheeler (2W) category fell 6.33 per cent, commercial vehicles (CV) and tractors declined 8.6 per cent and 14.5 per cent, respectively last month. The three-wheeler (3W) segment contracted marginally to 2 per cent.
Overall retail sales in the domestic market stood at 18,99,196 units last month compared to 20,46,328 units in the year-ago period.
“February witnessed a broad-based downturn across all categories," said C S Vigneshwar, President at FADA, adding that the broad-based downturn was anticipated, as FADA’s previous survey had indicated a "flat to de-growth" sentiment for the month.
He said during the month, dealers began expressing concerns about inventory being pushed to them without their consent.
"While such initiatives may serve broader business objectives, it is critical to align wholesale allocations with genuine demand to protect dealer viability and ensure healthy inventory management," Vigneshwar noted.
In the two-wheeler segment, urban markets suffered a sharper decline of 7.38 per cent compared to a 5.5 per cent dip in rural areas due to better agricultural sentiment and marriage-season demand.
“Dealers attributed this to inventory imbalances, aggressive pricing adjustments (notably post-OBD-2B), weak consumer sentiment, lower enquiry volumes and limited finance availability. Concerns over slow-moving models and external economic pressures, such as liquidity constraints and inflation, further intensified these challenges,” FADA said in a statement.
Dealers urged automakers to avoid overburdening dealers with excessive inventory, which stood at 50–52 days.
