FADA says vehicle registrations down 15% in December, puts hope on Budget 2020

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. FADA's statement said that it looks forward to demand spurring initiatives in the Union Budget 2020 and specific initiatives for the auto industry based on its feedback for the faster revival of much-needed sustainable growth.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present Budget 2020-21 in Parliament on February 1, 2020.

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.