Two-wheeler, three-wheeler, and commercial vehicle sales were down on a Y-o-Y basis during November 2020, but festive cheer allowed private car and tractor sales to post growth figures for the same period, according to new the vehicle registration data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA).
November seems to have been a mixed bag in terms of new vehicles sales figures. While overall vehicle registration figures are very much reflective of the ongoing pandemic and poor economic performance – a degrowth of 19.29 per cent – passenger vehicles and tractor sales allowed the industry to see a silver lining in the ongoing lull market phase.
While sales were still down during Navratri, it was during Diwali and Dhanteras that people began their annual spending spree. This allowed a slew of new compact SUV launches to cash in despite the current market conditions. New car sales are also surging ahead, owing to the demand for a safer mode of transport during the ongoing pandemic. Tractor sales also spiked during the same period. New car sales grew by 4.17% on a Y-o-Y basis over November 2019 sales, while tractor sales grew by 8.47% during the same period.
Two-wheeler, three-wheeler, and commercial vehicle sales meanwhile were significantly down by 21.40%, 64.98%, and 31.22%, respectively, for a number of reasons – the overall public-sector spending has gone down, BS6 models now cost more, and there are issues. Also, bus sales are down, as travel has become limited.
Here’s a detailed look at new vehicle registration data across all categories during the month of November 2020.
| Category | November 2020 | October 2020 | Y-o-Y% |
| 2W | 14,13,378 | 17,98,201 | -21.40% |
| 3W | 24,185 | 69,056 | -64.98% |
| CV | 50,113 | 72,863 | -31.22% |
| PV | 2,91,001 | 2,79,365 | 4.17% |
| Tractor | 49,313 | 45,462 | 8.47% |
| Total | 18,27,990 | 22,64,947 | -19.29% |
Commenting on the performance in November 2020, FADA President Vinkesh Gulati said, 'Automobile Industry has seen one of the best recovery rates since unlocking began, as November continues to see positive momentum by growing 29.32% on an MoM basis. On a YoY basis, the negative slide continues with a degrowth of -19.29%.'
The 42-days festive period saw good traction in the current pandemic-hit world, as overall degrowth of -4.74% was much less than the expectation. While registrations during Navratri were tepid, people came out in good numbers to purchase their dream vehicles during the Dhanteras-Diwali period. Tractor segment also continued to move ahead. The fear of pandemic leading to safer means of travel for the entire family led to good sales in Passenger vehicle segment, as it grew by 13.6%.
New launches, especially compact SUVs, continued to show good demand in the PV segment. The focus in 2W continued its shift from 100cc to 125 cc and above category due to good harvesting coupled with Dhanteras-Diwali and Marriage Season.
Small Goods Commercial Vehicles also saw good demand with an increased level of transportation and last-mile connectivity needs. Given the shift in public attitude towards safer means of transportation and the fact that schools and colleges continued to remain closed, demand for bus remained weak. Similarly, M&HCV segment continued to play spoilsport, with excess capacity, high prices of BS-6 models, finance issues, and higher fuel prices.
FADA once again urged our Government to increase infrastructure spending, including timely payment to vendors, and introduce attractive incentive-based scrappage policy to revive the M&HCV segment.'
Also read - Car Sales Report: November 2020
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