Two-wheeler demand drops while PVs jump 20% YoY: Here’s what Fada’s new data shows

The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) released new data regarding sales in November. Overall retail recorded a slight jump of 2.14% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. 

Two-wheelers saw a decline of 3.1% due to retail shift to October and supply constraints, but demand was still supported by GST sentiment, EV traction and rural enquiries. Passenger vehicle sales rose sharply by nearly 20% due to strong growth driven by model availability, compact-SUV push and year-end deals. Inventory reduced sharply to 44-46 days, down from 53-55 days. 

Commercial vehicles grew 19.94% YoY, supported by select infrastructure activities, freight movement, tourism mobility, government tender cycles and GST reforms, although fleet utilisation remains uneven in select markets. Three-wheelers also recorded a 23.67% YoY jump, while tractors saw a massive increase in demand of 56.55% in a span of one year. 

Interestingly, when compared to month-on-month sales, barring three-wheelers and tractors, which added 3.42% and 71.29% above October sales, the rest all marked a decline. Passenger vehicles saw the steepest fall from October sales of nearly 29%, whereas two-wheelers declined 19.16%. Commercial vehicles came down by 14.46%, while commercial equipment came down by 3.33%. 

Adoption of electric versions of vehicles was slow on a YoY basis. Electric two-wheelers remained flat, hovering at 4.59%, while passenger vehicles added 99 bps to last year’s November sales of 2.79%. Only three-wheelers saw a 3% rise—from 58.53% last year to 62.49% in the current year. 

Fada President C S Vigneshwar said that November 2025 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 2024, when Deepawali and Dhanteras fell in towards the end of October 2024, and vehicle registrations happened in November 2024, which lifted volumes significantly.” 

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

What is Fada’s outlook for the next three months? 

In terms of outlook, sales are supported by improving rural sentiment and favourable macro indicators as there is a strong start to the rabi season, with sowing crossing 39.3 million hectares, significantly ahead of last year, driven by robust soil moisture conditions, better seed availability, and supportive MSP signals. Simultaneously, the IMD’s forecast of a colder-than-normal winter across the northern and central plains is expected to boost mobility needs and logistics activity. There are good signs of volume recovery across FMCG, tractors, and rural two-wheeler markets. 

Overall, industry sentiment for December can best be characterised as “cautious optimism” — a phase where the sector consolidates gains from the GST-led affordability shift and two strong months of retail performance, while remaining watchful of calendar-year dynamics and supply alignment. 

The outlook for India’s auto retail over the next 3 months remains firmly positive, supported by sustained momentum from GST 2.0 tax rationalisation, strong enquiry pipelines, and improving rural economic indicators, as 74% of dealers expect growth, underscoring broad-based confidence across segments. 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 India.

“While natural moderation may occur due to model-year change sentiment and the absence of festive triggers in Jan–Feb, the sector’s trajectory remains moderate, powered by stable macro fundamentals, improving farm income visibility, and confidence from both OEMs and dealers,” Fada stated.