Passenger vehicles (PV) retail sales in March declined by 6 per cent year-on-year, but rose 8.45 per cent in FY24, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) said on Monday.
PV retail sales in March dropped 6 per cent YoY at 3,22,345 units (March 2023:3,43,527 units) after a sustained increase in sales over the last few months.
FADA said customers postponed purchases to auspicious days of Navratra in April which pushed down the numbers unlike last year.
Manish Raj Singhania, President of FADA said there was no drastic fall in volumes because last year Navratra happened in the month of March and this year it will be in April. In his view, people postpone purchases to buy during the auspicious days such as Navratra, Gudi Padwa, and Eid which are starting from March 9.
“If you combine March and April auto retail figures, we will have a decent growth,” Singhania noted.
FADA claimed that the downturn in March was influenced by “heavy discounting” and “selective financing”, and further affected by “economic worries” and the “electoral climate”.
“Nonetheless, positives such as improved vehicle availability, increased stock levels and new model launches did stimulate demand in certain areas. The impact of election activities and changes in festival dates also played a role in sales dynamics," Singhania pointed out.
In FY24, PV retails jumped 8.45 per cent at 39,48,143 as against 36,40,399 units in FY23.
Singhania said, "Enhanced supply dynamics, strategic marketing efforts, ever expanding quality road infrastructure and strong demand in the SUV segment, now holding a 50 per cent market share, significantly contributed to this success.”
Thanks to record offtake of passenger vehicles, three-wheelers and tractors, automobile retail sales in India soared to double-digit growth in 2023-24. The retail sales across segments rose by 10 per cent to 2,45,30,334 units last fiscal as compared with 2,22,41,361 units in 2022-23.
FADA president stated that the Indian auto retail sector achieved a commendable double-digit growth of 10 per cent YoY across all categories, with 2W, 3W, PV, tractor and CV registering increases of 9 per cent, 49 per cent, 8.45 per cent, 8 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.
