The two-wheeler category has taken the hardest hit, witnessing a 20% decline in registrations. Passenger vehicles (PVs) saw a marginal dip of 1% and commercial vehicles (CVs) recorded a 9% fall. These segments, however, fared relatively better than two-wheelers.
Adding to the struggles, petrol-powered vehicles have contributed significantly to the decline, with a sharp 21% drop in registrations. However, there is a silver lining: vehicles running on cleaner fuels like electric and CNG have shown growth, registering an increase of 9% and 8%, respectively in registration.
Some signs of recovery emerged in the third week of December. The overall decline narrowed from 20% (as of week two) to 15%, with the two-wheeler segment improving slightly from a 25% to a 20% drop.
With most automakers offering big year-end discounts, the last week of December could see a further boost in registrations. Reflecting this optimism, auto stocks are mostly higher in today’s trading session, pushing the sectoral index up by nearly 1%.