Car and SUV retail hits all-time high in FY23

Chennai: Auto retails for the financial year FY22-23 was up 21% with all categories firmly in the green. According to the latest numbers from the Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Associations (FADA), auto retails hit 221,50,222 units, up from 1,83,27,326 units in FY 21-22. Cars and SUVs were up 23% year-on-year at 3.6 million units up from 2.9 million units in the year-ago fiscal. Two wheelers were up 18.5% at nearly 16 million units up from nearly 13.5 million last financial year with electric vehicle penetration hitting 4.5%. The two wheeler story though is less celebratory since the category has fallen to a 7-year low despite clocking double digit year-on-year growth.Trucks and buses were up 33% at 9.39 lakh units up from 7.07 lakh units last fisc while three wheelers were up 84% at 7.67 lakh units compared to 4.17 lakh in FY21-22. Passenger vehicles was a top gear performer in FY22-23 hitting a record high of 3.6 million retails, higher than the pre-pandemic best of FY19 when retails were 3.2 million vehicles. The three wheeler numbers are also back to pre-pandemic levels of FY19 and tractors, which grew 8%, clocked all-time high retail numbers of nearly 8.3 lakh units beating its previous high of 7.8 lakh units in FY21.The fiscal numbers were bolstered by a top gear March which showed total vehicle retail up 14% year-on-year. Two-wheelers, three-wheelers, passenger vehicles and commercial vehicle sales were up 12%, 69%, 14%, and 10%, respectively though tractors only grew by 4% on a higher base. The uptick in two wheeler sales came over lower base figures and the current numbers are still down 9% from pre-pandemic levels “indicating that rural India is still bearing the burden of high inflationary costs,” said FADA president Manish Raj Singhania. “In passenger vehicles better supplies coupled with better sales, though at the upper end of the spectrum, kept the meter ticking. This apart from increase in prices of OBD 2A vehicles coupled with multiple festivals in the month kept the sales healthy though inquiry levels have now started decreasing,” he added. Inventory levels at the end of March 2023 reverted to normal with passenger vehicles in the 37-39 day range and two wheelers in the 15-20 day range.