NEW DELHI: As economic activities resumed with the Unlock announced by the government, auto sales saw a jump, even though the figures remain considerably low compared to last year, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways data on registration of new vehicles shows.
Auto sale fell sharply during the lockdown in March and April, recording over 80 per cent slide compared to the corresponding period last year.
Total number of vehicles registered during April 2019 stood at 17.5 lakh, which fell sharply to 3.77 lakh in April 2020. In May 2010, the number of vehicles registered dipped from 8 lakh in the 2019 to 2.07 lakh.
The next two months saw fast recovery as nearly 9.96 lakh and 11.61 lakh vehicles, respectively, were registered in June and July across the country.
But, these figures were far behind last years’ numbers — 17-18 lakh, respectively, in June and July. The total sale of vehicles during June and July this year was only 60 per cent of the corresponding period last year.
Around 80 per cent of the total vehicles sold comprise motorcycles. Nearly 7.9 lakh motorcycles out of total 9.96 lakh vehicles were sold in June and nearly 8.83 motorcycles out of total 11.61 lakh vehicles were sold during July this year.
Jump in sale of the vehicles during June- July is also due to people’s preference for travelling in personal vehicles instead of using public transport.
A survey by Shriram Automall stated that due to health and safety concerns, personal convenience will become popular over public transport.
Industry associations have observe that retail sale of passenger vehicles and two-wheelers saw steady sequential growth in July, as demand for entry-level cars and motorcycles continued to rise in the rural economy.
Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations president Ashish Harsharaj Kale said, “As India continues to open up, the month of July saw better registrations compared to June, though on a year-on-year basis, auto sector recovery is yet to be seen anywhere near normal. Current market conditions are still not indicative of the actual demand situation on an all-India level and retails continue to de-grow in huge double digit...”