Retail sales of vehicles fell 28% in April from March

Automobile dealers seek relief package as most states have declared lockdowns to fight Covid-19

Retail sales of vehicles saw a 28% month-on-month decline in April as most states underwent under either partial or full lockdowns beginning April 5 onwards.

According to data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), all categories of vehicles witnessed drop in registrations in April compared to the previous month with two-wheelers recording a decline of 28% and passenger vehicle sales seeing a drop of 25%. Three-wheeler registrations dropped by 43%, while registration and sale of tractors fell by whopping 45% during the month compared to March.

"India is currently facing one of its toughest times with the second wave of Covid-19 creating havoc in everyone’s life. This time, the spread is not only limited to urban markets but has also taken rural India in its grasp," Vinkesh Gulati, President, FADA said.

Read | Total vehicle registrations in India dropped 30% in 2020-21: FADA

The spread started with Maharashtra followed by Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Rajasthan, and other states following thereafter.

The first nine days of May have seen extremely lean sales due to the lockdown announced by majority of states. "Lockdown also means dealership outlets to remain closed thus resulting in zero sales. Considering the rising number of cases, one can expect the peak in terms of infections for India as a whole could be at least a fortnight away. Even where the dealerships are open, walk-ins have dropped to 30% and customers are delaying purchase decisions," FADA said.

In April, 8,65,134 two-wheelers were registered as against 11,95,445 units in March 2021. The registration of passenger vehicles stood at 2,08,883 units in April 2021 as against 2,79,745 units in March 2021. The total sales of all categories stood at 11,85,374 units in April compared to 16,49,678 units in March 2021, a decline of 28.15%, the data released by FADA shows. However, these numbers do not include the states of Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana.

The FADA has also requested the government to come out with a financial package on the lines of a package announced during last year's lockdown. "We also request the RBI to come out with guidelines/ notifications for relaxation of loan repayment equivalent to the tune of the number of days of lockdown each state has announced," the federation said

Unlike last year, the lockdown this time around has been imposed by state governments and not the central government. As a result, there have been no relief measures from either the state governments or the central government, it said.