India’s June Auto Retail Sales Hit Record High; EVs, Hybrids And CNG Gain Market Share

India’s automobile retail sales posted strong growth in June, with passenger vehicle sales rising 28.6% year-on-year and alternative-fuel models accounting for a record share of total car registrations, according to data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) on Monday.

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Passenger Vehicle Sales Register Strong Growth

FADA reported that overall vehicle retail sales climbed 21.8% from a year earlier to 2.6 million units, making it the highest June sales performance recorded by the industry body.

Passenger vehicle sales increased to 410,853 units during the month. As buyers increasingly opted for vehicles running on cleaner fuels, the share of compressed natural gas (CNG) models rose to 24.3%, while hybrid vehicles accounted for 8.3% of total passenger vehicle sales. Electric vehicles contributed 7.8%, taking the combined share of alternative-fuel vehicles to a record 40.4%.

New data has also revealed how the increasing choice for non-traditional fuels is gaining momentum, due to the increased cost of crude oil leading to higher fuel prices at home. The change in purchasing behavior is driving up demand in the segments of CNG, hybrids, and electric vehicles.

Fuel Costs Continue To Influence Buying Trends

The increase in petrol and diesel prices during May, following higher global crude oil price levels amid geopolitical tensions in West Asia, has encouraged more customers to consider vehicles with lower running costs.

Last month, Maruti Suzuki had stated that bookings for its CNG models increased by around 40% after the fuel price revisions. The June retail data indicates that this trend continued across the broader passenger vehicle market.

While conventional petrol and diesel vehicles continued to account for the majority of sales, the share of alternative-fuel models reached its highest level since FADA began tracking retail registrations.

Two-Wheeler Market Maintains Momentum

The two-wheeler segment also delivered a strong performance during June, with retail sales rising 21.2% year-on-year to 1.8 million units, according to FADA.

Electric mobility continued to gain traction in this category as well. The sales of electric two-wheelers as a percentage of total two-wheeler sales stood at 10.6%, which is the first time that this particular category has breached the 10% level mark.

This data indicates that consumers have started preferring electric vehicles as a mode of transportation in general, owing to the availability of more models and increasing acceptance among urban consumers.

Industry Witnesses Its Best Retail Sales In June

The retail sales data in June suggests a strong demand for various types of automobiles due to rising prices of fuel. While passenger cars and two-wheelers continued to be the main contributors in sales growth, an increase in the number of registrations of CNG and hybrid models shows a change in the consumer behavior pattern.