New Delhi: Automobile retail sales in India rose around 5 per cent year-on-year in June with all vehicle segments, including passenger vehicles and two-wheelers, witnessing growth, Federation of Automotive Dealers Associations (FADA) said on Monday.
Overall automobile registrations last month stood at 20,03,873 units, up 4.84 per cent as compared with 19,11,354 units in June 2024.
Passenger vehicle (PV) retail sales rose 2 per cent year-on-year to 2,97,722 units last month as against 2,90,593 units in the year-ago period.
“Heavy rains and tight market liquidity weighed on footfall and conversion, even as elevated incentive schemes and fresh bookings lent selective support,” FADA President C S Vigneshwar said in a statement.
Some dealers indicated that certain PV OEMs have introduced compulsory billing procedures such as automatic wholesale debits -- to meet volume targets; inventory consequently stands at around 55 days, he added.
June thus painted a picture of modest but steadfast passenger vehicle performance amid varied market cues, Vigneshwar stated.
Two-wheeler retails rose 5 per cent year-on-year to 14,46,387 units in June.
“While festival and marriage-season demand provided a boost, financing constraints and intermittent variant shortages moderated sales,” Vigneshwar said.
Several dealers cited compulsory billing and forced stock lifts — often via auto-debit wholesales — leading to mandated high days of inventory aligned with festival-season targets, he added.
Commercial vehicle (CV) registrations went up 7 per cent to 73,367 units in June.
Last month sales reflected a resilient CV segment adeptly navigating cost pressures and a softening economy, Vigneshwar stated.
“Early-month deliveries buoyed volumes before monsoon-induced slowdowns and constrained liquidity dampened enquiries and conversions,” he added.
Members pointed to the impact of new CV taxation and mandatory air-conditioned cabins, which have elevated ownership costs, alongside muted infrastructure demand, he said.
Three-wheeler retails increased 7 per cent to 1,00,625 units while tractor registrations rose 9 per cent to 77,214 units last month.
In the April-June period, overall retail sales increased 5 per cent year-on-year to 65,42,586 units as compared with 62,39,877 units in same period last fiscal year.
PV sales rose 3 per cent year-on-year to 9,71,477 units. Similarly, two-wheeler registrations increased 5 per cent year-on-year to 47,99,948 units.
CV and three-wheeler retail sales rose 1 per cent and 12 per cent, respectively, in the April-June period.
Tractor registrations rose 6 per cent year-on-year to 2,10,174 units in the first quarter.
On business outlook in the near term, FADA stated that above-normal monsoon forecast at over 106 per cent of the LPA in July, with regional variances should bolster rural demand even as heavy-to-very-heavy precipitation zones introduce logistical complexities.
Early kharif sowing, up 11 per cent year-on-year to 262.15 lakh hectares, underlines stronger farm incomes and augurs well for two-wheeler uptake in the hinterlands, it added.
However, evolving geopolitical tensions and potential spill-over from US tariff measures warrant vigilant supply-chain management and could temper consumer sentiment, FADA stated.
Also, challenges in securing rare-earth materials have stalled component production, further constraining supply and retail volumes, it added.
Against this mixed backdrop, FADA adopts a stance of cautious optimism -- leveraging rural demand drivers and government capex while remaining agile to navigate monsoon-related disruptions, supply constraints and liquidity pressures, it said.