Vehicle retail sales in the country rose 57% during the Navratri festival this year, clocking a record sales of almost 5.4 lakh units, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations said on Monday.
Total vehicle retail sales between September 26 and October 5 stood at 5,39,227 units compared with 3,42,459 units sold during Navratri last year, FADA said in a statement.
The sales registered this year were also a record, bettering the previous best of 4,66,128 units in Navratri of 2019, it added.
Navratri sales show that customers are back in showrooms after a gap of three years, FADA President Manish Raj Singhania said.
As per the FADA data, two-wheeler retail sales in this year's Navratri stood at 3,69,020 units against 2,42,213 units during the festive period last year, showing a growth of 52.35%. Compared to 3,55,851 units clocked in the Navratri of the pre-Covid year 2019, the two-wheeler sales growth was 3.7%.
"Two-wheeler category, which was continuously showing weakness when compared to pre-Covid months, also registered single-digit growth," Mr. Singhania said.
Passenger vehicle sales during this year's Navratri stood at 1,10,521 units against 64,850 units last year, a growth of 70.43%, FADA said.
Similarly, commercial vehicle retail also grew by 48.25% to 22,437 units from 15,135 units sold in Navratri last year. The growth was also witnessed in the three-wheeler category, which posted sales of 19,809 units in Navratri this year compared to 9,203 units last year. Tractor sales also jumped 57.66% to 17,440 units from 11,062 units sold in Navratri 2021.
"We now hope that this trend continues till Deepavali so that apart from passenger vehicle dealers, who will see a decade high during this festive, the two-wheeler dealers also have a good season and hence helps them liquidate their stock, which they have built in anticipation of a good festive," Mr. Singhania said.
