Retail auto sales grow 11% in September, but still below pre-Covid levels, says FADA

• While overall retail auto sales grew by double digits however when compared to the pre-pandemic month of September 2019, sales were down 4%.
• The two-wheeler segment is yet to show signs of full recovery due to rising prices of vehicles and pricier vehicle loans post RBI rate hike.
• FADA believes that while the auto retail sales will be better than the last two festive seasons, it will still remain below pre-Covid levels of October 2019.
• Overall, FADA continues to remain optimistic for the month of October due to the ongoing festive season.

Retail auto sales in September rose 11% compared to a year ago thanks to an early start to the festive season, monthly sales data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) showed.

However, when compared to the pre-pandemic month of September 2019, sales were down 4%, FADA said.

“Auto retail for the month of September’22 saw an overall growth of 11%. September witnessed both, the inauspicious period of Shradh (a.k.a Pitru Paksha) from 10-25th September and festive period, which began with Navratri on 26th September. Due to this, the full potential for the month was not realised as it should have been,” FADA President Manish Raj Singhania said.

Two-wheeler segment remains a drag; dealers anticipate best festive season this year
The two-wheeler segment is yet to show signs of full recovery. Sales for September fell as much as 14% from pre-Covid times despite a growth of 9% from September 2021. Rising prices of vehicles due to increase in input costs along with pricier vehicle loans post RBI rate hike have impacted sales.

“Due to increased input costs, 2W companies raised prices by 5 times in the past one year. Apart from this, RBI’s fight with inflation saw rate hikes, which continued to make vehicle loans expensive. While India is showing revival signs, Bharat is yet to perform. 2W, especially entry- level vehicles, are finding extremely less buyers thus dragging the entire segment,” said the FADA statement.

Going ahead, due to the festive season there is demand build up for premium bikes. “The 2-W space also witnessed healthy double-digit growth led by innovative offerings in (the) premium segment by Royal Enfield brand at Eicher Motors and channel inventory build-up before the festive season by the industry leader,” FADA said.

FADA believes that while the auto retail sales will be better than the last two festive seasons, it will still remain below pre-Covid levels of October 2019.

“The enquiry level in (the) 2W segment is showing positive movement. If this segment, especially entry-level 2W, also performs well improving its growth to low double digits, overall auto retail will see higher growth compared to last 2 festivals but may still lag pre-Covid numbers of October’19,” said FADA in a statement.

The passenger vehicles segment continues to show extremely healthy figures by growing 44% since pre-Covid times. Sales of three-wheelers, tractors and commercial vehicles also rose – registering an increase of almost 6%, 37% and 17% respectively from September 2019.

All India vehicle retail data for September’22

“Better availability due to easing semiconductor supply, new launches and feature-rich products kept customers glued to dealerships for getting their favourite vehicles during the auspicious period. The waiting period continues to range between 3 months to 24 months especially for SUVs and compact SUVs, which have become the absolute choice for today’s customers,” said the FADA statement.

Besides, dealers anticipate this to be the best festive in a decade for the PV segment as FADA expects even higher sales in October.

SEE ALSO: Slow recovery of low income households slowed down India's economic recovery: Kotak report
Reliance Jio and Airtel 5G prices may be affordable for now but expected to increase after wider rollout