In October, the automobile retail sales spiked 32 per cent from the year before, helped by festival demand, especially for two wheelers and passenger vehicles.According to data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), october clocked overall retail sales of 2.83 million, the second highest number after 2.85 million in November 2023.

Two wheeler (2W) sales increased 36 per cent and passenger vehicle (PV) 32 per cent in October.Three-wheeler sales were up 11 per cent, commercial vehicles 6 per cent and tractors 3 per cent. Overall retail sales increased 64 per cent compared to September.

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C S Vigneshwar, president of FADA said, “October witnessed the convergence of two major festivals, Navratri and Diwali, both occurring in the same month. Additionally, the government of India’s announcement of an increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for rabi crops further boosted market sentiment. We are expecting the same trend this month (November).”

As per the data, most automobile companies reported improved PV and 2W sales in October. Maruti Suzuki posted a record 35 per cent rise in sales (199,675 units), followed by Hyundai Motor (30 per cent), Tata Motors (31 per cent), and Mahindra and Mahindra (56 per cent). As many as 483,159 PVs were sold last month when inventory levels declined to 75-80 days due to stock correction by companies. Inventory levels in September touched a record high of 80-85 days.

The improvement may still lead the season of discounts to continue until the end of 2024.Two-wheeler market leader Hero Motocorp posted a 38 per cent rise in sales (576,532 units), followed by Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (37 per cent), TVS Motor (39 per cent), and Bajaj Auto (28 per cent).

The overall sales in the segment was seen at 20.65 million units. As many as 97,411 commercial vehicles were sold in October, up 6 per cent from last year.