Festive Season Could Boost Car Sales In October, Predicts FADA’s Reports

Passenger vehicle sales dropped by 19% in September 2024 leading to stocks piled up in the warehouses. Automobile sales depend a lot on the festive seasons and traditions in India. The main reason behind the fall in passenger vehicle sales is Sharadha or Pitru Paksha. People in this period of 16 days do not prefer to buy new things. It is considered to be unlucky to buy new assets or start any new business during this period. Let us have a look at the passenger vehicles’ expected sales in October as per the FADA report below.

Festive Season Fuels Car Sales: FADA Shares The October Insights

FADA (Federation of Automobile Dealers Association) said that the passenger vehicles segment expects growth in October 2024. After a fall in August and September 2024, the Navratri and Diwali season is expected to boost sales. Buying gold and automobiles during Navratri and Diwali is often considered auspicious. Thus, the sales will be favourable this month. However, good sales do not solve the problem. FADA asked the RBI to issue an advisory to banks. It asked the banks to work strictly on their funding policies. Thus, the bank would prefer only those with dealer consent and actual collateral.

Let us move to the sales figures below. The retail sale witnessed a fall of 9.26%. The commercial vehicles have been performing better than the passenger vehicles. The commercial vehicles have a fall of 10.45%. While the two-wheelers have a 9% fall. On the other hand, the three-wheelers had an increase of 0.66% with tractor sales increasing by 15% in a single month. September too had crucial festivals in India including Ganesh Chaturthi and Onam. However, the sales were still off for the companies.

Maruti Suzuki is the top manufacturer of commercial and passenger vehicles. It had a fall of 20% with 1,41,318 units of sales. Its competitor Hyundai Motor India had an even bigger fall of 25%. While Tata Motors landed a 19% fall. Mahindra and Mahindra were among the few automobile manufacturers having a rise of 0.4%. The company become the third biggest manufacturer by surpassing Tata Motors this month.

The predictions go in favour of the sales in October. However, it may go opposite if the harvest does not go well in the market. The companies are already facing the stock pilation. It means the failure to increase sales in October 2024 can lead to pressure upon the companies to manage the unsold stock in warehouses with the new stock coming from the manufacturers.