October car retail to hit new peak of 3.85 lakh units, festive fervour saw sales of 8 cars per minute this month

On an average eight Indians drove home their dream car every minute this October, which galvanised the Indian car market to scale a new peak and record its highest ever retail sales in a month. 3.85 lakh cars were sold in October 2022, a 28 percent increase over the 3 lakh vehicles retailed in October 2021 and 40 percent higher than the previous month.

With the peak festivities of Navratri and Diwali both falling in the month of October,  the Indian passenger vehicle industry bettered its previous peak of 3.82 lakh retails in December 2018, this was significantly helped by improved supplies of parts. 

Shashank Srivastava, senior executive director, sales and marketing at Maruti Suzuki says the demand and deliveries have been very healthy for the month of October and was on expected lines.

"There has been an all-around growth in dispatches, retails and bookings. If not for part shortage, some of the high in-demand products could have seen higher deliveries. The booking momentum too has been sustained for the most part of the season, capping off a good festive month for the industry," said Srivastava.

Despite a few zero production days during the Diwali holidays, the dispatches for October 2022 are also expected to be amongst top three-monthly dispatches recorded by the industry at 3.4-3.45 lakh units, according to industry sources.

October was the first month in the current financial year, wherein retail sales were higher than dispatches as the retail network across the country had geared up for a bumper festive season.

 The dealer stock which was replenished ahead of festive season to five weeks has again come down to three weeks  at a shade below two lakhs or three weeks stock, underlining a strong pull in the marketplace.

Speaking on the demand momentum during the festive season, Tata Motors spokesperson said, "On the back of robust demand for our range of cars and SUVs, our deliveries during Dhanteras more than doubled, with growth of over 100%, in FY 23, over FY 22. For the festive period so far, our retail growth has been 43% in FY23, compared to last year.”

The demand has been well supported this year with a significant ramp up in supply, added the Tata Motors spokesperson.

The pending booking which was 8.5 lakh vehicles at the beginning of the month for the industry is estimated to have come down to 7.5 lakh vehicles at the end of October, offering a bit of breathing space for vehicle makers to further ramp up production. Market leader Maruti Suzuki had pending bookings of 4.25 lakh at the end of festive season.

Srivastava however cautions, “We will have to watch the demand situation carefully after the festive season. While the supply situation is better there could be headwinds due to higher retail financing rates , inflation and lower economic  growth forecast “

 As per Government of India’s vehicle registration website Vahan, as of October 29^th - 3.16 lakh vehicles were registered for October 2022. This is 38% growth year on year.

The Vahan website captures data from over 94% RTOs in the country, but due to technical glitch in the current month, there is some lag on registration numbers getting updated, said industry sources.