‘Automobile retail sales see double-digit growth in FY23’

Automobile retail sales grew in double-digits in the country last fiscal, driven by a record offtake of 36 lakh passenger vehicles, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said on Tuesday.

Total retail sales rose to 2,21,50,222 units last fiscal, up 21% from 1,83,27,326 units in FY22. The passenger vehicle registrations rose by 23% to 36,20,039 units, as against 29,42,273 units in 2021-22.

Two-wheelers retail sales rose by 19% to 1,59,95,968 units in FY23 compared with 1,34,94,214 units in 2021-22. Commercial vehicle retail sales rose 33% while three-wheeler registrations witnessed an 84% increase as compared with 2021-22.

Tractor retail sales grew by 8% last fiscal as compared with FY22.

“FY23 was the first full year without any impact of Covid after a gap of two years. Consequently, overall retail sales during the year experienced double-digit growth of 21%,” FADA president Manish Raj Singhania said.

He noted that last fiscal the retail sales of passenger vehicles reached a record high of 36 lakh vehicles, a growth of 23% as compared with FY22.

The previous high was in FY19 when retail sales were at 32 lakh units.

The segment benefitted from numerous new launches and better product availability due to the easing of the semiconductor shortage, Mr. Singhania said.

The demand for higher-end variants helped sustain sales but the entry-level variants remain under pressure as customers in this category are still affected by high inflation, he added.

Mr. Singhania noted that the two-wheeler segment fell to a seven-year low with total retail sales of 1.59 crore last year.

On sales outlook for the current fiscal, the industry body noted: “As the high-growth period has now passed, FY24 is expected to see tapered growth in the low single digits due to a high base, inflationary pressures, routine price hikes, and regulatory changes.”

Overall, it will be a year of consolidation for the auto retail industry with an overall single-digit growth over the previous year, it added. In March, passenger vehicle retail sales increased by 14% year-on-year in March riding on the back of improved supply of electronic components.

The domestic passenger vehicle registrations rose to 3,35,266 units last month, from 2,93,016 units in March 2022. Two-wheeler retail sales rose to 14,45,867 in March, up 12% from 12,86,109 units in the year-ago period.

Similarly, the commercial vehicle registrations last month rose to 92,790 units, up 10% from 84,124 units in March last year. Three-wheeler retail sales rose 69% year-on-year to 86,857 units in March.

Tractor registrations last month rose to 81,607 units, up 4% from 78,070 units in March 2022. Total registrations last month rose to 20,41,847 units in March, up 14% from 17,92,802 units in the year-ago period.