Vehicle sales accelerate

Fear of public transport is pushing many in Bengaluru to buy cars and bikes

Pandemic regulations have made people wary of public transport, and many in Bengaluru are buying their own vehicles.

Car and SUV sales are booming, and buyers are back at the showrooms, according to trade insiders.

Maruti-Suzuki had zero sales in April because of the total lockdown that month. In May, they sold 13,888 units in India, after manufacturing resumed.

Sales went up to 53,139 units in June, 1,01,307 units in July and 1,16,704 units in August. In Bengaluru, Maruti-Suzuki sales have recovered remarkably, after a dismal May. “Swift, Brezza and Baleno are topping the charts. They have a waiting period of three to four weeks,” says a dealer.

Maruti-Suzuki dealers expect sales to peak in the Dasara-Deepavali season. “People have now started investing their surplus money in buying vehicles because their other plans are standstill because of the pandemic,” he says.

It is the same with Hyundai India. In June, they sold 21,320 vehicles in India. The numbers went up to 38,200 in July and 45,809 in August. This is the case with other manufacturers too.

Ajay Singh, director of sales and marketing, Advaith Hyundai, Residency Road, says SUVs like Hyundai Venue and Creta have done substantially well in the last three months.

While Creta has a waiting period of three to five months, Venue, readily available earlier, now has a waiting period of a month and a half. “We always knew Creta would do well, but the increased sales of Venue came as a big surprise,” he says.

First-time buyers are going in for cars priced between Rs 6 lakh and Rs 9 lakh, and the more affluent are buying cars and SUVs between Rs 9 and Rs 12 lakh.

Higher-priced cars are doing well too, and that is because the pandemic hasn’t particularly affected the personal finances of the rich, says a dealer.

Trade analysts thought it would take a year for the automobile industry to get back on track, but sales picked up because people have a continued fear of infection, and are not as enthusiastic about public transport as they were before.

Used cars in demand

Used cars are in big demand: they are cheaper than new cars, and buyers are not as daunted by the price tags.

Given that the lifetime road tax in Karnataka is steep, buying a used car makes sense, say dealers. Gajendra Jangid, co-founder and CMO, CARS24, which sells pre-owned cars, says, “We have already crossed the pre-Covid sales numbers and witnessed 100 per cent recovery in August. This can be attributed to the need for safe mobility during unprecedented times.”

Sixty per cent of first-time buyers are opting for pre-owned cars as compared to less than 50 per cent pre-Covid, he says. His company has helped transact about 40,000 cars across India after the lockdown. “Bengaluru has emerged as one of the leading markets with cities such as Mumbai, Pune and Delhi NCR,” he says.

Naveen Soni, senior vice president, sales and service, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, sees good potential for used cars. “We have seen a positive trend, especially for small cars in the A and B segments. There is growing traction especially among those in the metros commuting by public transport.”

Scooters and bikes

Two-wheeler sales are upbeat, too, but recovery is not uniform across brands.

An official with Yamaha says the company has seen a 40 per cent decline in sales in Karnataka in the last two months and an overall 27 per cent decrease in the sale of two-wheelers. “People are working from home and many have returned to their hometowns. We hope sales will pick up after September,” he says.

TVS Motor Company, which makes two-wheelers and autos, is fully back on track. After an initial setback, its sales numbers have bounced back.

TVS sold 198,387 vehicles in June as against 297,102 units in the same month last year. Sales grew to 2,52,744 units in July and 2,87,398 units in August. It sold 144,817 two-wheelers in June as against 226,279 in June last year. That was a major low, but business picked up soon enough. Motorcycles sold 84,401 units in June as against 1,31,331 units in June 2019. Scooter sales registered 65,666 units in June as against 99,007 units in June 2019.

RTO allows virtual registrations

Transport commissioner Shivakumar N says while April and May saw few registrations, the numbers picked up in June. “We have also eased the formalities of registration. People can now upload all documents from their vehicle dealer’s office, with photos of their vehicles. We have noticed that smaller cars are moving fast,” he told Metrolife.