Festive season becomes a booster for retail sales in Indian auto sector

New Delhi, Oct 18 The festive season has revived demand for the Indian auto industry as registration growth in the second week (October 10-October 16) improved for most of the segments compared to that seen in the first week of this year’s festive period, a report showed on Friday.

Two-wheelers (2Ws) registered mid-single-digit growth over the second week of last year’s festive season (October 22-October 28), while mopeds saw low double-digit growth, according to the report by BNP Paribas India.

While passenger vehicle (PV) sales declined, the decline reduced week-on-week.

The three-wheeler (3W) registrations declined by low-single digits, while those of tractors declined by mid-double digits.

"Week 2 data could see an upward revision as more data becomes available. The week-over-week growth in week 2 was better-than-historical week-on-week growth and showed signs of recovery," the report mentioned.

Also, growth in the second half of last year’s festive period was lower than that in the first half.

Based on the historical progression of the festive season, if the current trend continues, the YoY growth during this year’s festive season is trending to be 13 per cent for 2W, 19 per cent for mopeds, 6 per cent for PV, 15 per cent for 3W and (-) 6 per cent for tractors.

In the second week of the current festive period, e-commerce sales have grown in mid-single digits, moderating from 49 per cent seen in the first week, suggesting moderating growth in urban markets post-online festive sales.

Meanwhile, two-wheelers saw strong double-digit growth (year-on-year) in the second quarter of this fiscal (FY25), while three-wheelers grew by high single digits. The original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) reported mixed revenue growth and margins in the July-September period, with 2Ws outperforming other segments. The domestic sales of passenger vehicles stood at 3,15,689 in September, compared to 3,16,908 units in September last year, according to the latest SIAM data.

Source: IANS