Nearly 24K vehicle registrations in June, up by over 15K from May

New Delhi: In a sign that may be pointing towards the gradual economic recovery of Delhi since the COVID-19 outbreak and the subsequent lockdown, nearly 24,000 vehicles were registered in the Capital in the month of June, — an increase of over 15,000 compared to the previous month. In May, Delhi had seen 8,455 vehicle registrations, officials from the Transport department here said on Sunday.

Registration of cars and two-wheelers picked up after the restrictions due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown were relaxed, they said. "The registration of vehicles picked up after 'Unlock 1' was declared, and total registrations were 23,940 in the month," said a senior Delhi Transport department officer.

Official data shows the registrations in June included 18,741 two-wheelers (motorcycles and scooters) and 4,755 four-wheelers, he said, adding that 74 three-wheelers (both goods and passenger vehicles) and 280 e-rickshaws were also registered in June.

In comparison, 6,711 two-wheelers, 1,650 cars, 72 e-rickshaws and seven three-wheelers were registered in May, the figures showed. However, the situation is still far from what it used to be before COVID-19. Before the pandemic, Delhi had an average record of 40,000-45,000 vehicle registrations per month

JS Nayol, president of the All India Car Dealers Association, said the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged the business and the situation will take time to return to normal.

"People are facing financial hardships, so they are going for used cars instead of new ones. We have demanded the government to give relief from GST so that sale of new cars also picks up," he said.

Most of the vehicles being bought by the people are in the range of Rs 1 lakh to Rs 8 lakh, adding that there is not much demand for high-end cars upwards of Rs 10 lakh. The highest demand is in the small car segment, he said, noting the trend.

Since the lockdown, many businesses in Delhi and across the country have suffered to a large extent. In fact, even with the economy being reopened, small businesses in the city are finding it difficult with not many signs of demand picking up drastically. While the country has started "unlocking" so to speak, the fear of the pandemic still looms large among people.