Automobile showrooms saw peak activity on Saturday, buoyed by pent-up festive demand and benefits from recent GST rate cuts that made cars cheaper across segments. Dealers said that bookings jumped to high double digit figures with thousands of deliveries scheduled through Sunday.
In contrast, leading jewellers reported a significant drop in gold sale volumes as prices soared nearly 65% over last year to around Rs 1.35 lakh per 10 grams. While value sales rose due to higher rates, many buyers shifted to silver or lightweight jewellery.
Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales at Maruti Suzuki (MSIL), said that they did about 41,000 deliveries on Saturday and another 10,000 customers would take deliveries on Sunday, taking the total number to 51,000 units. Last year on Dhanteras, MSIL did about 41,500 deliveries.
“This year many customers, because of GST 2.0 magic, are enthusiastically coming to buy vehicles. Every day 14,000 bookings are coming. Since the day we announced reduced prices, we have received 4.5 lakh bookings, of which 1 lakh is for small cars,” said Banerjee. He added that retail so far this festive season has been about 3.25 lakh units. This has broken all records for Maruti Suzuki with a growth of more than 50% over the same period last year.
Tarun Garg, whole-time Director & COO of Hyundai Motor India, said that they are witnessing strong customer demand, with deliveries this Dhanteras expected to be around 14,000 units, 20% higher than last year. “The positive momentum is driven by the festive spirit, a buoyant market environment and the encouraging impact of GST 2.0 reforms,” stated Garg.
However, business prospects are dim for jewellery companies eagerly awaiting Dhanteras sales. Gold prices have surged 65% since last Dhanteras, making the precious metal unaffordable for many buyers. Experts expect the upward trend to continue into next year due to geopolitical tensions, gold ETF inflows, and central bank purchases.
Suvankar Sen, MD & CEO of Senco Gold & Diamonds, said that they are seeing customers move to 18K, 14K and even 9K options to keep the joy of gifting alive without stretching household budgets, and many are using our digital and EMI options to plan purchases thoughtfully.
“While we’re expecting a value growth of around 20–25% in jewellery sales compared to last year, there has been a 12–15% dip in volume terms, showing how buyers are prioritising design and emotional value over quantity…On the demand side, an interesting shift: studded and diamond jewellery is steadily gaining ground as buyers balance sentiment with value,” added Sen.
Saurabh Gadgil, Chairman and Managing Director, PNG Jewellers, said that bullion, including gold and silver coins and bars, is performing exceptionally well while pre-bookings for wedding jewellery have also been very encouraging.
“Festive consumption has returned in full swing, aided by the slight dip in gold prices last night. Silver demand remains particularly strong, and advance bullion bookings over the past two days have ensured smooth fulfilment today. Overall, we expect a buoyant Dhanteras, with growth of around 15–20% in value terms over last year,” added Gadgil.
Eshwar Surana, Managing Director, Raj Diamonds, said that there is robust demand during this festive season. He added that they have witnessed a 20% increase in demand this time compared to last year's festivities, despite rising gold prices.
