‘Defied conventional post-festive slowdown’: FADA says car sales jumped 20% in November

Retail sales of passenger vehicle jumped 19.71% year-on-year to 39.4 million units in November, continuing the growth momentum after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) cut brought down prices, according to data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA).

Car sales were also aided by marriage season demand, better supply of high-waiting models, and sustained push from compact sport-utility vehicles (SUVs), says FADA president C S Vigneshwar.

Inventory in November reduced sharply to 44-46 days, down from 53-55 days, marking healthier demand-supply discipline, the dealers’ lobby says.

“November ’25 defied the conventional post-festive slowdown, delivering a resilient performance despite an unusually high comparative base. Traditionally, auto retail eases in the month following the festival cycle; however, this year, most festive registrations were completed in October ’25 itself, unlike November ’24, when Deepawali and Dhanteras fell in towards the end of October ’24, and vehicle registrations happened in November ’24 which lifted volumes significantly,” says Vigneshwar.

GST rate cuts coupled with OEM-Dealer retail offers continued pulling customers to showrooms, enabling sustained footfalls beyond the festive period, he says, adding that price reductions across categories, which ignited strong buying in October, continued to support conversions in November as well.

While the GST rate cut on internal-combustion engine (ICE) vehicles boosted sales in November, electric vehicle penetration in cars fell below 4% for the second straight month.

Two-wheeler sales, however, witnessed a de-growth as majority of festive purchases happened in the month of October. “Two-wheelers, while reporting a modest 3.1% YoY decline, must be viewed in context. A significant retail shift occurred due to festive buying in October, combined with delayed crop payments and uneven supply of preferred models,” says Vigneshwar.

Electric vehicles penetration in two-wheelers also fell below the 5% mark for the second straight month in November.

Commercial Vehicles grew 19.94% year-on-year, supported by select infrastructure activities, freight movement, tourism mobility, government tender cycles and GST reforms, although fleet utilisation remains uneven in select markets, says the FADA president.

In its near-term outlook, FADA said there are good signs of volume recovery across FMCG, tractors, and rural two-wheeler markets. These developments, along with GST 2.0 rate cuts and sustained OEM–Dealer offers, are expected to support demand continuity into December.

Dealers highlight confidence driven by improved enquiry pipelines, marriage season purchases, better stock availability, rural crop realisation-linked liquidity, and expected year-end consumer schemes, said the FADA. “While some dealers expect softness in urban premium segments, the broader market tone remains measured yet optimistic, with year-end schemes, anticipated January price revisions, and stock liquidation goals expected to support retail traction,” it added.

In its outlook for the next three months, the FADA said that expected price increases in January, new model launches for 2026, and marriage season demand are set to drive conversions, while crop realisation liquidity is expected to reinforce retail traction across rural India.