Business
oi-Prakash KL
The festive season failed to deliver the usual boost to India’s automobile market during Navratri this year, with vehicle registrations falling 6.52% from the same period last year, according to a report in PTI.
Provisional retail data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) showed that 11.23 lakh vehicles were registered between October 11 and October 20. During Navratri last year, dealers had recorded 12.01 lakh vehicle registrations between September 22 and October 2.
India’s auto market saw vehicle registrations fall 6.52% to 11.23 lakh units during Navratri this year, down from 12.01 lakh last year due to a high base from the GST 2.0 rollout, though EVs grew 26.78% and key automakers reported strong demand.
Passenger vehicles were the biggest drag on overall sales. Registrations in the segment fell 21.9% year-on-year to 1.83 lakh units. Two-wheelers, which account for the largest share of vehicle sales, also saw a decline, with registrations dropping 2.8% to 8.34 lakh units.
Three-wheelers registered a 7.5% decline at 45,735 units. The commercial vehicle segment, however, managed to grow 1.1% to 35,618 units. Tractor registrations also edged up 0.9% to 22,690 units.
Electric vehicles were a notable exception to the broader slowdown. EV retail sales jumped 26.78% during this year’s Navratri. Their share of total festive vehicle sales has consequently increased to nearly 10.5%, compared with 7.7% during the corresponding period last year.
Why did vehicle sales fall during Navratri?
The sharp year-on-year decline needs to be viewed against an unusually strong Navratri last year.
Navratri 2025 coincided with the rollout of GST 2.0, with the revised tax rates taking effect at the beginning of the festive period. The tax cuts triggered a surge in vehicle purchases as buyers brought forward their buying decisions, creating an exceptionally high base for comparison this year.
FADA President Sai Giridhar described the latest decline as largely “optical”, pointing out that last year’s Navratri also lasted 11 days, compared with 10 days this year.
“Last year Navratri ran 11 days against 10 and coincided with the GST 2.0 roll-out, which pulled a wave of pent-up demand into one extraordinary window,” Giridhar said.
The GST reduction continues to support demand, but the rush seen immediately after the tax changes were introduced has naturally eased.
Automakers See Strong Festive Demand
Despite the industry-wide registration numbers, some major carmakers said they continued to see healthy customer demand during the festive season.
Maruti Suzuki said its Navratri deliveries were close to last year’s level, with the company reporting deliveries at around 98% of the previous year’s figure. Partho Banerjee, Senior Executive Officer for Marketing and Sales at Maruti Suzuki, told PTI that capacity constraints had also limited further deliveries.
The company said its retail sales from Onam through Dussehra were around 30% higher year-on-year and expects double-digit growth for the full festive period, which extends until Diwali.
Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles also reported strong activity at its dealerships, pointing to increased showroom visits, enquiries and bookings. The company said it delivered more than 50,000 vehicles during Navratri, including over 10,000 on Dussehra.
“The response during Navratri has been particularly encouraging,” said Amit Kamat, Chief Commercial Officer at Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles.
Hyundai Motor India, meanwhile, said demand remained healthy in both urban and rural markets. The company reported nearly 41,000 registrations between Shradh and Navratri, marking a 30% increase over the corresponding period.
Hyundai MD and CEO Tarun Garg said the pace of bookings indicated that demand could remain strong through Dhanteras and Diwali.
The contrasting picture between industry-wide registrations and individual manufacturers suggests that the Navratri numbers may not necessarily signal a broad-based collapse in festive demand. Instead, the unusually strong sales recorded during last year’s GST transition have made the year-on-year comparison particularly difficult.
