New vehicle registrations down by 28.64% in March 2021

Tractors and passenger vehicles were the only two categories that saw double-digit growth.

According to the data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), vehicle registrations fell by 28.64% in March 2021. Overall sales stood at 16,49,678 units, compared to 23,11,687 units in March 2020.

Tractors and passenger vehicles were the only two categories that saw double-digit growth. According to FADA, this growth can be associated with multiple factors like the low base of last year, the transition from BS4 to BS6 and India going under total lockdown. Further, the shortage of semiconductors resulted in waiting periods as high as 7 months. 47% of dealers said that they lost more than 20% of sales due to supply-side constraints.

Tractor sales remained strong as rural incomes saw improvements. The segment saw a growth of 29.21% in March 2021. India is expected to witness a normal monsoon this year, which should further boost tractor sales in FY2021-22.

The 3-wheeler and commercial vehicles segments continued to degrow on a YoY basis.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has hurt two-wheeler sales. The segment recorded the steepest de-growth in the last few months.

Two-wheeler sales decreased by 35.26% to 11,95,445 units compared to the same month the previous year.

Three-wheeler sales were down by 50.72%. 38,034 units were sold compared to 77,173 units in March 2020.

Passenger vehicle sales increased by 28.39%. 2,79,745 units were sold compared to 2,17,879 units in March 2020.

Commercial vehicle sales dropped by 42.20%. 67,372 units were sold in March 2021 compared to 1,16,559 units in the same month of the previous year.

Team-BHP's detailed analysis of the March 2021 sales figures.