Automobile retail sales sustain momentum in November as demand remains robust

New Delhi: Automobile retail sales sustained momentum post festive period with registrations rising 2 per cent year on year in November led by robust demand for passenger vehicles, three wheelers, commercial vehicles and tractors, dealers' body FADA said on Monday.

Overall retail sales rose to 33,00,832 units last month as compared with 32,31,526 units in November 2024.

Last year Deepawali and Dhanteras fell towards the end of October and vehicle registrations happened in November which lifted volumes significantly.

"GST rate cuts coupled with OEM-dealer retail offers continued pulling customers to showrooms, enabling sustained footfalls beyond the festive period. Price reductions across categories, which ignited strong buying in October, continued to support conversions in November as well," Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) President C S Vigneshwar said in a statement.

November 2025 defied the conventional post-festive slowdown, delivering a resilient performance despite an unusually high comparative base of last year, he added.

Passenger vehicle registrations rose to 3,94,152 units in November, up 20 per cent as compared with 3,29,253 units in the year-ago period.

The segment witnessed growth aided by GST benefits, marriage season demand, better supply of high-waiting models, and sustained push from compact SUVs, the industry body said.

Inventory thus reduced sharply to 44-46 days, down from 53-55 days, marking healthier demand-supply discipline, it added.

Two wheeler retail sales saw a dip of 3 per cent year on year to 25,46,184 units in November.

"A significant retail shift occurred due to festive buying in October, combined with delayed crop payments and uneven supply of preferred models. Encouragingly, dealers continue to report strong walk-ins linked to GST sentiment and healthy marriage season demand," FADA noted.

Commercial vehicles registrations grew 20 per cent year on year to 94,935 units supported by select infrastructure activities, freight movement, tourism mobility, government tender cycles and GST reforms, although fleet utilisation remains uneven in select markets, it stated.

Similarly, three wheeler retails rose 24 per cent year on year to 1,33,951 units in November as against 1,08,317 units in November last year.

Tractor registrations saw an increase of 57 per cent year on year at 1,26,033 units last month as compared with 80,507 units in November 2024, FADA stated.

The industry body noted that the near-term outlook is supported by improving rural sentiment and favourable macro indicators as there is a strong start to the rabi season, with sowing crossing 39.3 million hectares, significantly ahead of last year, driven by robust soil moisture conditions, better seed availability, and supportive MSP signals.

Wheat, pulses, and oilseeds have recorded sharp acreage expansion, signalling improved farm income prospects, FADA said.

Simultaneously, the IMD's forecast of a colder-than-normal winter across the northern and central plains is expected to boost mobility needs and logistics activity and there are good signs of volume recovery across FMCG, tractors, and rural two-wheeler markets, it said.

These developments, along with GST 2.0 rate cuts and sustained OEM, Dealer offers, are expected to support demand continuity into December, it added.

"The outlook for India's auto retail over the next 3 months remains firmly positive, supported by sustained momentum from GST 2.0 tax rationalisation, strong enquiry pipelines, and improving rural economic indicators as 74 per cent of the dealers expect growth underscoring broad-based confidence across segments," FADA stated.

Expected price increases in January, new model launches for 2026, and marriage season demand are set to drive conversions, while crop realisation liquidity is expected to reinforce retail traction across rural areas, it added.