New Delhi: Vehicle registrations in the
country declined 15 per cent on a year-on-year basis to 16.06 lakh units
after two months of positive growth, data from Federation of
Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) showed on Tuesday.
A total of 16,06,002 vehicles were registered in December 2019, compared to 18,80,995 units during the same period of 2018.
Registration
of personal vehicles fell 9 per cent to 2,15,716 units last month, and
that of commercial vehicles plunged 21 per cent to 67,793 units.
In
the two-wheeler segment, 12,64,169 vehicles were registered, which was
16 per cent lower than the 15,00,545 units registered a year ago, the
FADA data showed.
Commenting on the performance last month, FADA
President Ashish Harsharaj Kale said: "December sales de-growth was not
on expected lines as the inquiry levels all through the month were quite
robust. Consumer sentiment continues to be very weak as customers did
not conclude on the purchase even after taking the effort of inquiring
and despite the best offers being available."
"The sharp decline
in growth has denied the dealer community an opportunity to reduce its
BS-IV inventory, making the transition to BS-VI trickier", he said,
adding that with such a weak consumer sentiment, FADA recommends a very
cautious approach to its members with serious focus on BS-IV inventory
liquidation.
The FADA President also said that liquidity still
remains a concern for the dealer community as well as for the retail
customer as banking and finance industry continues to be in cautious
mode despite sufficient liquidity being available.
FADA's
statement said that it looks forward to demand spurring initiatives in
the Union Budget and specific initiatives for the auto industry based on
its feedback for the faster revival of much-needed sustainable growth.
