Vehicle registrations fall by over 13 pc in Feb: FADA

Automobile registrations across the country dropped by more than 13 per cent in February from the year-ago period with passenger vehicles marking a fall of 10.6 per cent, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) said on Tuesday.

FADA President Vinkesh Gulati said the fuel consumption, which had almost recovered from the lows of pandemic is once again witnessing headwinds due to historic price hikes."Consumer spending, which is the driving force behind India's economy and accounting for 60 per cent of the GDP, fell 2.4 per cent showing signs of sluggishness. This also reflects that consumers are still uncertain and worried about their income and cautious about spending," he said.

Data by FADA showed three-wheeler registrations were down by 49.65 per cent with 33,319 registrations in February 2021 compared to 66,177 in the year-ago period.

Commercial vehicles witnessed a downswing of 29.52 per cent to 59,020 registrations versus 83,751 in February 2020.

Two-wheeler registrations totalled 10.91 lakh last month compared to 13 lakh in February 2020, marking an downturn of 16.08 per cent.

However, passenger vehicle registrations edged higher by 10.59 per cent to 2.54 lakh from 2.29 lakh in the year-ago period. And tractor registrations rose by 18.89 per cent to 61,351 last month compared to 51,602 in the year-ago period.

That took overall vehicle registrations to 14.99 lakh in February 2021, down 13.43 per cent from 17.31 lakh in February 2020.

Gulati said two-wheelers continue to see sluggish demand as the new wave of COVID-19 infections in certain states keep customers away. Enquiry levels have also narrowed as many educational institutions are still reluctant to open.

Overall commercial vehicle segment continues to falter because of non-availability of finance and negligible sales of passenger buses due to closure of educational institutes while supply side constraints keep the registrations in deep red, he said.

FADA India represents over 15,000 automobile dealers having 25,000 dealerships including 30 associations of automobile dealers at the regional, state and city levels accounting for 90 per cent of market share.