Vehicle registrations in September continued to grow 11.45 per cent on a month-on-month basis but fell 10.24 per cent year-on-year (YoY), the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said on Thursday.

On a yearly comparison, two-wheeler sales shrunk 12.62 per cent, three-wheeler by 59 per cent and commercial vehicle (CV) by 34 per cent, it said.

Passenger vehicle (PV), for the first time, grew by around 10 per cent since the unlocking began, the industry body said.

“With the government’s persistent effort to unlock India, the month of September continued to witness automobile registrations on a rise as compared to the previous months. New launches and vehicle availability played their part as catalyst. A lower base during the last financial year also helped the cause,” Vinkesh Gulati, President, FADA said.

With social distancing on the customers’ mind, coupled with government’s push to further normalise business conditions and banks becoming more considerate to finance vehicles, entry level passenger vehicles saw good demand thus indicating a preference for personal transportation over public, he said.

Tractor registrations also continued their upward journey with 80.39 per cent YoY growth, FADA said.

Meanwhile, FADA cautioned that, with the festival season round the corner and elections approaching in Bihar, the risk of Covid spread resurging may play a spoilsport in specific regions.

Inventory for two-wheelers stands at 45-50 days and PV at 35-40 days. Any dampener in vehicle sales during the upcoming festivals will have a catastrophic impact on dealers’ financial health, it said.

"FADA thus once again advises extreme caution to both manufacturers and the dealers to avoid building any further inventory as this may lead to a disastrous situation similar to last two festival seasons when sales were below the mark,” it added.

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