The retail sales numbers for the recently ended 42-day festive season in CY2023, which opened on the first day of Navratri and ended 15 days after Dhanteras, are out. And they tell a telling story. At 37.93 lakh vehicles, they have set a new record for festive season sales, as per the data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA).

That works out to 90,323 vehicles sold on every day of the 42-day festive period this year. FADA president Manish Raj Singhania said, "During the 42-day festive period of FY2023, we reached a new milestone with vehicle sales climbing to 37.93 lakh, a 19% increase from last year's 31.95 lakh.”

Record-breaking sales were reported in most vehicle categories, with rural areas particularly contributing to the surge in two-wheeler purchases. The two-wheeler industry saw sales of 2.89 million units, up 20.71% over the 2.39 million units in CY2022’s festive season. Next up in volume terms is the passenger vehicle segment, which registered sales of 547,246 units, up 10.32% YoY, 51,199 units more than the comparative period a year ago. Put this down to the continued and surging demand for SUVs and MPVs.

According to Singhania, “Despite initial underperformance during Navratri, particularly in the passenger vehicle sector, the situation improved by Deepawali, ending with a 10% growth rate. While SUVs were the highest demanded vehicles, inventory levels for passenger vehicles remain a significant concern as OEMs continue to push further dispatch thus keeping the inventory rate at near to all-time high levels.”

The critical commercial vehicle segment, which is seen as the barometer of the economy, has bounced back. Commercial vehicle OEMs sold a total of 123,784 units, up 8.11% YoY.

The sole segment to be in the red is tractors, which saw an 8.3% decrease in sales during Navratri but made a remarkable recovery, ending the festive period with only a 0.5% decrease. “This turnaround highlights the robust purchasing power in rural India,” said Singhania.