As registrations dip in March, FADA fears lockdown hit

Any lockdown at this point will severely hamper the momentum that is building for the auto industry, said Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) on Thursday.

“April comes with festivities like Ugadi, Gudi Padwa, Baisakhi and Poila Boishakh. This coupled with marriage season is generally a high sales period. At this juncture, the second wave of Covid-19 is not only spreading faster but is also trying to destabilise the growth which India has been able to achieve in the last few months,” FADA President Vinkesh Gulati said, while sharing the monthly data of vehicles registered.

Declining registrations

Already, “registrations in March have fallen 28.64 per cent YoY. Registrations of two-wheelers declined by more than 35 per cent to 11,95,445 units during the month compared to 18,46,613 units in March 2020,”.he said.

Commercial vehicles continued to degrow, too, because of high BS-VI prices, low finance availability, and the repayment pressure with the end of moratorium.

The silver-lining was the PV segment, with registrations rising more than 28 per cent YoY to 2,79,745 units in March (2,17,879 units). Tractor also posted double-digit growth,” Gulati added.

Quoting Pew Research that financial woes wrought by Covid-19 have pushed about 32 million Indians out of the middle-class, Gulati said that this and the double-whammy of high fuel rates and price increases kept customers away from showrooms.

On three-wheelers, he said the market is seeing a tactical shift from internal combustion engine to electric vehicles (EVs).

Some categories showed growth in certain markets/sub-categories where the government’s infrastructure spending has begun, Gulati said.