AHMEDABAD: After a depressing 2020, car sales in July picked up growth in top gear with 41,262 cars sold in the state, as per data of Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA).
This is the five-year highest share of cars sold in the month of July in the past five years. Interestingly here, village and town folks drove the buying with 70% car sales recorded in rural Gujarat.
In percentage terms too, car sales vroomed at 35.17% of the total 1.17 lakh vehicles sold in the month of Jagannath Rath Yatra when people traditionally take delivery of vehicles on the auspicious day of Ashadi Bij. This is the first time since 2017 that cars have constituted such a large chunk of total vehicles sold in the state.
After a year of muted sales in the pandemic year of 2020, the top speed buying of four wheelers has the automobile industry ignited with hope.
In fact, car sales spanning seven months of January to July 2021 constituted 28.5% of the total 6.63 lakh vehicles so far this year. This too is the highest in the past five years. In absolute numbers, 1,89,271 cars have been sold in 2021 so far. Since 2017, it was only in 2018 when a higher number of 1,93,591 cars were sold.
‘Upward trend is likely to continue’
Automobile dealers said that people have come to terms with the pandemic and top speed car sales are reflective of people finding four wheelers a safer mode to travel especially as the pandemic is here to stay.
Pranav Shah, chairman of FADA, Gujarat said they are hopeful that the rising car sales trend will continue. "Sales are indicative of an economy making peace with a pandemic and getting back on track. Robust sales are witnessed in entry level vehicles as well as the SUV segment."
J N Barevadia, ex-RTO officer, said sales picked up post-Diwali in 2020 and the upward trend is likely to continue if there is no killer third wave.
