AUTO SALES IN TOP GEAR

Pent-up demand, GST cuts and the festival season combine to give the automotive industry a record boost, with customers flocking to showrooms

- By M.G. ARUN

THE FESTIVE SEASON HAS BROUGHT CHEER to the automotive industry, the record sales a combination of pent-up demand, rationalisation of the goods and services tax (GST) in September, and the auspicious nature of the season itself.

With the start of the wedding season (November-December), automakers expect sustained demand which could spill over to January next year. Data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) for the 42-day festive season (September 22-November 2) showed that passenger vehicles (PVs) sales grew 23.4 per cent year-on-year. Two-wheelers, meanwhile, grew by 22 per cent, while commercial vehicles (CVs) saw a 15 per cent growth (see Vroooming Ahead).