Automobile Retail Sales Soar To Double-Digit Growth Leaving Covid-19 Impact Behind

Automobile retail sales in India grew in double digits last year, according to the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA).

This was led by record sales of 36 lakh passenger vehicles.

The retail sales figures rose by 21 per cent year-on-year (YoY), with total registrations reaching 22,150,222 units.

The passenger vehicle registrations rose by 23 per cent YoY to 3,620,039 units, as against 2,942,273 units in the previous fiscal year (FY).

In FY23, two-wheeler retail sales increased by 19 per cent to 15,995,968 units, while commercial vehicle sales rose by 33 per cent.

Additionally, three-wheeler registrations saw an 84 per cent increase over the previous year.

Tractor sales rose 8 per cent in the previous year compared to FY22.

FADA president Manish Raj Singhania reported that FY23 saw a 21 per cent growth in overall retail sales. This was the first year without any Covid-19 impact in two years.

In the previous fiscal year, the sales of passenger vehicles hit a new record of 36 lakh, marking a 23 per cent increase from FY22, Singhania noted.

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

Singhania noted increased product availability and new launches in the segment, thanks to eased semiconductor shortages.

Sales were supported by premium variants, but customers in the low-end category still struggled due to inflation, according to the FADA president.

Last year, two-wheeler segment saw 1.59 crore retail sales, the lowest in seven years, according to Singhania.

FY24 sales growth is expected to fall in the low single digits due to a high base, inflationary pressures, routine price hikes, and regulatory changes, according to the industry body.

Overall, it will be a year of consolidation for the auto retail industry with single-digit growth over the previous year, it added.