Compared to the Rath Yatra sales in the pre-pandemic era, however, sales were at least 40% down, said Shah.
On the auspicious occasion of Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad, many people went ahead and bought vehicles for their home.
At least 4,200 vehicles, including two-wheelers and four-wheelers, drove out of automobile showrooms in Ahmedabad on Monday — up 30% against last year’s Rath Yatra figures. The estimates were put out by the Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association (FADA), Gujarat.
The vehicles include 3,200 two-wheelers and 1,000 four-wheelers, the sales of which were primarily driven by the pent-up demand.
“The importance of the Rath Yatra is widely seen in Ahmedabad than in other parts of Gujarat,” said Pranav Shah, chairman, FADAGujarat.
“Clearly, at least 50% of the vehicle sales clocked on the Rath Yatra day across the state comes from Ahmedabad.” Shah said the demand for vehicles on the Rath Yatra day reflected some improvement in the market over the past few weeks, when the sales overall remained muted due to the second wave of Covid.
Compared to the Rath Yatra sales in the pre-pandemic era, however, sales were at least 40% down, said Shah.
Two-wheeler demand picked up well, though students continued to remain missing from stores.
“Few students came to buy two-wheelers. Instead, most two-wheeler buyers on the Rath Yatra day were professionals,” said Malav Shah, the owner of a twowheeler dealership. “Purchases were good for gearless two-wheelers as well as for superbikes.
Motorcycle sales, overall, were low-key.” On the other hand, car demand was better, according to dealers. “Rath Yatra car sales recovered faster than two-wheeler sales and registered barely a 10% decline against the pre-pandemic levels,” said an Ahmedabadbased car dealer.
“While the entry-level segment cars comprised the majority of the sales volume, the demand for SUVs too was quite good.” Dealers said that the incomes of potential car buyers were less affected as compared to the incomes of those who would opt for a twowheeler.
This is clearly why the recovery is faster in car sales, the dealers said.
Before the pandemic, at least 60% of the two-wheeler buyers picked financing options. However, the trend has now changed.
Most buyers paid in cash or by cheque to get their two-wheelers home.Meanwhile, the trend of at least 85% car buyers choosing financing options continues. However, dealers suggest that the down payment has reduced to the bare minimum requirement.
“Of late, car buyers have been paying only 15% of the down payment, which is the bare minimum required under any financing option,” said Pranav Shah, chairman, FADA-Gujarat. “Earlier, people used to shell out more. Now, they are holding on to their cash reserves and spending only what is necessary.”
The real estate market in Ahmedabad saw several new projects being launched on Rath Yatra day, while there was a spurt in bookings and sales. There was also some demand for commercial property, said, realtors.
“Several developers broke ground for their projects. As many as 25 new real estate projects were launched in Ahmedabad on this auspicious day of Rath Yatra,” said Ajay Patel, president, CREDAI-Ahmedabad GIHED, a body of real estate developers.
There were negligible or no negligible such activities on the same day last year due to the pandemic. “As a result, bookings, sales and launches are more this year. In fact, bookings and sales today doubled,” he added.
Overall, there has been a significant improvement in the real estate market over the past one month, real estate developers said.
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