Hit by Covid-19 pandemic, vehicle registrations in Chandigarh fell by 35% in 2020.
According to data available with the Registration and Licensing Authority and State Transport Authority, 30,259 vehicles were registered in the city in 2020, down from 45,984 in 2019, which was already the lowest in a decade.
In the segment of light motor vehicles, which comprises of cars and jeeps, 13,899 units were registered, a dip of 22% from the previous year’s 17,745. When it came to two-wheelers, 15,028 units were registered in 2020 as compared to 25,895 in 2019, a drop of 42%.
“The year saw low sales. Even as a spike was seen during the festival season, sales again came down in December,” said Ronny Hoon, president, Federation of Chandigarh Regional Automobile Dealers.
With Navratras, Dhanteras and Diwali in October-November, the two months recorded 3,396 and 3,848 vehicle registrations, respectively. In 2019, when all these festivals were celebrated in October, 7,400 vehicles were registered during the month and the figure fell to 3,173 in November.
Nitin Mehan, who owns the Maruti Suzuki dealership Autopace, said: “Virtually no sales took place in April and May due to the lockdown. However, the trend is changing. Our sales during the festival season were more than in the previous years.”
{{/usCountry}}Nitin Mehan, who owns the Maruti Suzuki dealership Autopace, said: “Virtually no sales took place in April and May due to the lockdown. However, the trend is changing. Our sales during the festival season were more than in the previous years.”
{{/usCountry}}Mehtani said many people from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh also buy their vehicles from Chandigarh, but that data is not reflected in the local registration figures.
“The performance of dealerships has varied from company to company. While Ford and Toyota have lost business, companies like Kia and Nissan have built new ground. Newly launched models of cars after the lockdown have done particularly well,” said Varinder Singh Saluja, former head of the federation and owner of a Ford dealership in the city.
On drop in the sale of two-wheelers, Karan Gilhotra, who is the proprietor of Platinum Honda dealerships, said: “We were majorly hit as colleges and the university didn’t have physical classes this year. Even in offices, work from home culture has been adopted in most places, so people don’t need two-wheelers to go to work. The spending capacity of consumers has also come down.”