Auto registrations pick up in August but demand remains subdued

New Delhi [India], September 9 (ANI): Automobile registrations slipped by 26.81 per cent in August from the year-ago period even though the country gradually eased COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA) said on Wednesday.
FADA President Vinkesh Gulati said August was better than previous month due to onset of the festival season but auto registrations continued to plunge on a year-on-year basis.
Three-wheeler registrations were down by 69.51 per cent with 16,857 registrations in August 2020 compared to 55,293 in the year-ago period.
Commercial vehicles witnessed a downswing of 57.39 per cent to 26,536 registrations versus 62,270 in August 2019, data released by FADA showed.
Two-wheeler registrations totalled 8.98 lakh last month compared to 12.6 lakh in August 2019, marking a slide of 28.71 per cent.
Passenger vehicle registrations edged lower by 7.12 per cent to 1.78 lakh from 1.92 lakh in the year-ago period. But tractor registrations rose by 27.8 per cent to 67,406 last month compared to 52,744 in the year-ago period.
That took overall vehicle registrations to 11.88 lakh in August 2020, down 26.81 per cent from 16.23 lakh in August 2019.
Gulati said customers who were sitting on the fence finally concluded their purchase during ongoing festivals of Janmashtami and Ganesh Chaturthi.
Entry-level passenger vehicles were in high demand as personal mobility is being preferred with current pandemic showing no signs of reduction, he said.
"Overall demand is still not back to pre-COVID levels as banks and non-banking finance companies continue to have a cautious approach towards funding," said Gulati.
Commercial vehicles, especially in the medium and heavy commercial vehicles category, are still suffering from higher lead times with financers and an increase in the cost of acquisition leading to viability issues. A stricter CIBIL score is also affecting customer finance, he added.
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. (ANI)