New car, SUV sales go up in November 2020: FADA

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has released the monthly vehicle registration data for November 2020. The overall industry retails (two-wheelers, three-wheelers, Passenger Vehicles (PV), Commercial Vehicles and tractors) came to 18,27,990 units, a drop of 19 percent compared to the same period last year.

• Cars and SUVs segment gets 4.17 percent growth compared to November 2019.
• The long festive season aided the registration numbers and restricted degrowth.
• The PV segment grew 13.6 percent in festive season.

Cars and SUVs show positive growth

Interestingly, the cars and SUVs segment (passenger vehicles) reported positive growth for the month compared to the same period last year. Overall segment sales came to 2,91,001 units, a growth of 4.17 percent compared to November 2019.

Commenting on how November performed, Vinkesh Gulati, president, FADA 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 percent on month-in-month (MoM) basis. On year-on-year (YoY) basis, the negative slide continues with degrowth of -19.29 percent.”'

Vehicle demand in the festive season

According to the dealer body, the 42-days festive period saw good traction in the current pandemic-hit world, as overall degrowth of 4.74 percent was much lower than expectations. While registrations during Navratri were tepid, people came out in good numbers to purchase vehicles during the Dhanteras-Diwali period. The fear of the pandemic saw the search for safer means of travel for the entire family, leading to good sales in the passenger vehicles segment as it grew in double digits, at 13.6 percent.

Furthermore, new launches, and especially compact SUVs, continued to show good demand in the PV segment. The focus in two-wheelers continued its shift from 100cc to 125cc and above category, due to good harvesting coupled with Dhanteras-Diwali and the marriage season.

Demand for cars and bikes going forward

The dealer fraternity body says, with the festive season now over, heavy rains in certain parts of the country leading to crop damage, and pent-up demand almost negligible, demand revival now solely depends on exciting year-end schemes. If the supply chain issues in the car and SUV segment is controlled, the industry may see continued growth in December.

FADA has once again cautioned two-wheeler manufacturers and dealers to keep a check on vehicle inventory as post festivals, demand may remain subdued.

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