With tariff war paused, customers leverage festivals to boost auto sales in April: FADA
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Overall automobile retail sales in India grew a modest 2.95 per cent in April this year to 22,87,952 units with completion of purchases by customers around Chaitra Navratri, Akshay Tritiya, Bengali New Year, Baisakhi and Vishu helping April end on a positive note, Federation of Automotive Dealers Associations said on Monday. Total automobile sales in India in April 2024 stood at 22,22,463 units, Federation of Automotive Dealers Associations (FADA) said in a statement."With the tariff war paused, stock markets staged a sharp pullback -- alleviating investor concerns -- and customers thus leveraged Chaitra Navratri, Akshay Tritiya, Bengali New Year, Baisakhi and Vishu to complete purchases, helping April end on a positive note," FADA President C S Vigneshwar said.He said two-wheeler retail volumes demonstrated a resilient up-cycle -- growing 2.25 per cent year-on-year and accelerating 11.84 per cent month-on-month, underscoring a stable demand environment amid mixed headwinds."Dealers reported buoyant enquiry growth in rural areas post-Rabi harvest, driven by strong crop yields, healthy reservoir levels and a favourable monsoon outlook, while wedding-season tailwinds sustained rural offtake," Vigneshwar said.All categories except commercial vehicles (CV) closed in the green, with two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles (PV) and tractor up 2.25 per cent, 24.5 per cent, 1.5 per cent, and 7.5 per cent, respectively, while CVs declined 1 per cent, FADA said.Two-wheeler retail sales in April this year stood at 16,86,774 units as against 16,49,591 units in the same month last year, up 2.25 per cent.PV retail last month stood at 3,49,939 units as compared to 3,44,594 units in April 2024, up 1.55 per cent, it added.Urban demand remained robust, supported by new-model introductions, although elevated financing costs and new emission norm 'OBD2B'-linked price adjustments posed isolated bottlenecks, he added.On the outlook, FADA said dealer feedback paints a nuanced picture for May across all segments with PV retails expected to hold steady but muted, as buyers await new-model roll-outs and contend with elevated financing costs.In two-wheelers, FADA said, "Marriage-season and post-harvest demand should underpin enquiries, yet financiers are tightening customer-level credit criteria -- higher CIBIL requirements and down-payment mandates -- despite broader banking-system liquidity. Summer heat and school holidays may further suppress showroom visits though IMD predicts that it may not be as bad as last year."CVs are likely to trade flat, weighed down by a high-base effect, slower e-commerce activity and intensifying competition from electric three-wheelers; targeted OEM incentive schemes and forthcoming infrastructure projects offer some offset, it added.
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