According to data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways data, 14,92,187 vehicle registrations took place in the State in 2020 as against 19,68,038 in 2019. The major slump was reported between April and June when the lockdown restrictions were strictly implemented.

However, experts from automobile industry said 2020 was the second consecutive year to witness a downturn in vehicle registrations. In 2019, the vehicle registrations saw a fall of 6.91 per cent when compared to 2018. Though a large number of second-hand vehicles were sold following the pandemic, revenue collection, issuance of permits and transactions recorded negative growth in 2020. In terms of revenue, the RTOs witnessed a fall in revenue collection by 22 per cent, collecting Rs 3.875.29 crore in 2020 as against Rs 4,985 crore in 2019. A Transport official said the fall in the registration and the revenue was due to RTOs remaining shut during the first two phases of the lockdown in March-April. Vehicle registration commenced only on May 18 and recorded registration of 32,840 units in May. In June, it went up to 1,10,613 units even though year-on-year growth continued to be negative. “The only positive note after the lockdown was that vehicle registration in December touched 1.23 lakh compared to 1.19 lakh in the corresponding month in 2019,” the official said. A leading dealer in the city said two-wheelers which constitute the bulk of vehicle sales in the State would bounce back this year with better offers in the segment. “Two-wheeler sales picked up in the October-December. In fact, more number of two-wheelers were sold in December 2020 than the previous year,” he added.