Festive weekend drives up sales of cars, two-wheelers

Dhanteras-Bhai Dooj period could see PV sales surge up to 21% as availability rises

- Alisha Sachdev

Sales of passenger vehicles (PVs) and two-wheelers surged over Dhanteras and Diwali, lifted by festive spirits and better availability of products compared with last year.

Many Indians prefer taking deliveries of new vehicles and purchasing big-ticket items like homes and household electronics during the festive period, especially in the Navratri week and on the days of Dhanteras, Diwali and Bhai Dooj, particularly in the northern and central parts of the country.

Maruti Suzuki expects industry-wide deliveries of passenger vehicles during the Dhanteras to Bhai Dooj period (10-15 November) to touch 55,000-57,000 units, up 18-21% from a year ago, said executive director Shashank Srivastava.

“However, we should wait until Bhai Dooj to get a clearer picture with actual retail figures as some deliveries also take place on that day. For Maruti Suzuki, we delivered close to 21,000 units on Dhanteras and are estimating deliveries of around 27,000 units for the Dhanteras-Bhai Dooj period," Srivastava added.