KOCHI: Automobile sales in the state seems to back on track and looking robust after a dismal performance in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. According to the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD), 7.8 lakh vehicles were registered in the state in 2022, which is nearly 2.24% higher than the previous year. With this,the total number of vehicles registered in the state has increased to 1.64 crore.
However, the industry is way behind the annual sales reported during the pre-pandemic years.As per the data from MVD, around 9.14 lakh vehicles were registered in the state in 2019, which is much higher than the current registration.
Eldo Benjamin, vice president (Sales and Marketing), Nippon Toyota, said the sector has witnessed stable growth for the first time since the Covid pandemic.
He said the industry, which kicked off on a positive note with nearly 1,000 vehicle registrations in two days, will witness a boom in the new year. “ The number of sales may not be that high in the paper. But the demand for vehicles has increased a lot. Manufacturers are struggling to meet demand. We hope 2023 will mark a milestone in the auto sector, as a large number of people are waiting to own a vehicle,” he said.
“It is true that the number of vehicle registrations in the state has shown an upward trend. As per the data, we can say that there is a 10 % spike in the number of vehicle registrations in Ernakulam district. However, when compared to the pre-Covid era, it is negligible. The same growth that is seen in the tourism and other industries is happening here too,” said Anantha Krishnan, RTO, Ernakulam.
Meanwhile,sales of electric and CNG vehicles is also on the fast lane and increasing robustly. As per the data, 9855 CNG vehicles were registered in the state. Interestingly, the electric segment saw a vehicle registration of as many as 39,521 vehicles. However, Chairman of the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR), D Dhanuraj said the sale of private vehicles would affect the public transportation system in the state.