Bumper harvest: Auto retails surge 34% in Navratri period on GST cuts

NEW DELHI: Auto retails surged by a powerful 34% to a document 11.6 lakh items in the auspicious Navratri period as GST cuts – that got here into impact from September 22 – in addition to begin of the festive season in north boosted demand. The similar was 8.6 lakh items in the nine-day Navratri period final yr, based on retail gross sales knowledge launched by Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA). The full month of September, nonetheless, had a relatively-modest 5% progress year-on-year on whole vehicle retails of 18.3 lakh items (in opposition to 17.4 lakh items). The two months are seen as broadly incomparable for statistical understanding because the bigger a part of September this yr didn’t see prospects take deliveries as they waited for worth cuts from September 22 when the decrease GST charges kicked in. The Navratri progress noticed document demand for passenger automobiles, two-wheelers, and 3-wheelers. The passenger automobiles numbers have been up 35% at 2.2 lakh items in opposition to 1.6 lakh items in the Navratri period final yr.For 2-wheelers, the expansion was 36% on whole retail of 8.3 lakh items in opposition to 6.1 lakh items in the identical period final yr, as per FADA.

“Navratri 2025 will go down as one of the most memorable chapters in the country’s automotive retail journey… For the first time, dealerships across the nation witnessed record-breaking footfalls and deliveries,” FADA VP Sai Giridhar mentioned.Companies throughout the board had handed on the GST advantages to the market, and a few had even sweetened the deal additional by festive presents. Maruti, Hyundai, Tata Motors, Mercedes-Benz, TVS, HMSI and Bajaj Auto witnessed robust traction. “It reminded us what the right policy at the right time can do for a nation’s sentiment.”Three-wheelers noticed a progress of 25% at 46,204 items (37,097 items) in Navratris, whereas industrial automobile retails have been up 15% at 33,856 items (29,481). Sales of tractors have been up 19% at 21,604 items.Companies anticipate demand to remain robust until the Diwali period, and have seen inventory out of sure fashions. Shailesh Chandra, MD of Tata Motors’ Passenger Vehicles division, mentioned the surge in demand “sets a promising tone for sustained growth” in the months forward. “Across our portfolio, customer interest remained exceptionally strong with new bookings doubling in the latter half of September following the lowering of GST rates.”Mercedes-Benz bought a document 2,500 automobiles in the Navratri period.“We have never seen this kind of a demand in the past. This is a record for the number of cars sold in a particular number of days,” Mercedes-Benz India MD & CEO Santosh Iyer mentioned.Mahindra & Mahindra mentioned buyer purchases are at document ranges. “Thanks to the impetus from GST 2.0 and the preceding weeks’ pent-up demand, we have seen robust growth in dealer-reported customer retails during the first nine days of Navratri with over 60% growth in the SUV segment when compared to the first nine days of Navratri last year,” mentioned Nalinikanth Gollagunta, CEO of the corporate’s Automotive Division.