Vehicle registrations across categories declined year-on-year (YoY) in October, quite different from what the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) reported for their wholesales last week.
In the passenger vehicle category, registrations declined by 9 per cent YoY to 2,49,860 units during the month as against 2,73,980 units in October last year, the latest report by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said on Monday.
Vehicle registrations down 10% in September
In the two-wheeler category, registrations declined by 27 per cent YoY to 10,41,682 units in October compared with 14,23,394 units in the corresponding month last year.
Similarly, sales of commercial vehicles declined by more than 30 per cent to 44,480 units last month as against 63,837 units in October 2019.
Three-wheeler registrations also declined by more than 64 per cent YoY to 22,381 units in October as compared with 63,042 units in October last year.
Tractors, the silver lining
Only the sales of tractors grew by more than 55 per cent YoY to 55,146 units during the month as compared with 35,456 units in October 2019.
“October continues to see positive momentum on a monthly basis but on a yearly basis the negative slide continues to increase. The nine-day Navratri period witnessed robust vehicle registrations but could not save October from going into the red as compared to last year when both Navratri and Diwali were in the same month,” Vinkesh Gulati, President, FADA, said.
While new launches continued to be in demand in the passenger vehicle segment, entry-level motorcycles witnessed lean demand in the two-wheeler segment. With supply side mismatch, most passenger vehicle dealers ended with limited stock of high-selling items and odd variants, which did not attract much demand, he said. The lower discounts also played spoilsport.
While small commercial vehicles are seeing robust demand due to local goods transportation back to pre-Covid levels, the medium and heavy commercial vehicles segment continued to bleed, he said.
Covid impact
“As we enter the last leg of festivals and with Covid getting into its third wave in many cities, there is a sense of cautiousness amongst customers. Due to the lockdown announced in a few European countries, procurement of spares will also be a cause of hindrance for smooth supply of vehicles in Indian markets,” Gulati said, adding that this would create a supply and demand mismatch, thus affecting passenger vehicle sales.
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FADA once again cautions both OEMs and dealers to keep a check on vehicle inventory as, post festivals, demand may remain subdued. Since inventory levels are at their highest during this financial year, that may impact dealers’ financial health, thus leading to closures and job losses.