Truck rentals ease after Diwali peak; vehicle sales improve: Report

Cooling likely to improve as country enters wedding season and infra projects pick up, it says

Truck rentals eased in October after staying firm before the three-month festival season and a “big push” around Diwali, said a monthly report on the automobile sector on Friday.

 

Truck rentals on the Mumbai-Kolkata-Mumbai route dipped 2.1 per cent, Bengaluru-Mumbai-Bengaluru route 1.6 per cent and Delhi-Bengaluru-Delhi by 1.4 per cent on a month-on-month basis. Rentals on most other key routes stayed almost unchanged, according to the Shriram Mobility report published by the Shriram Group.

 

Fleet utilisation typically surges in the pre-festival season as manufacturers move goods and gradually eases off.

 

While truck rental eased off, the festival season boosted vehicle sales despite high inventory levels. October sales of new passenger vehicles and two-wheelers surged by 76 per cent and 72 per cent from the month before. Sales increased 24 per cent and 37 per cent from the year before. In the electric vehicle segment, two-wheeler and passenger cars sales grew by 24 per cent and 28 per cent from the month before.

 

“A combination of factors, including aggressive festive discounts by manufacturers and attractive schemes, ensured that October provided a much-needed boost for vehicle sales, particularly for two-wheelers and passenger cars,” said Y S Chakravarti, managing director and chief executive officer of Shriram Finance.

 

“It was also a month where truckers saw a slight cooling in rentals and fleet occupancy, which typically happens after the big Diwali push. The outlook remains positive as large parts of the country enter the wedding season, which is expected to further drive vehicle sales,” he said.

 

The report projected a 75 per cent and a 44 per cent rise in month-on-month sales of earth moving equipment and commercial construction equipment vehicles, citing development projects picking up speed and new projects being commissioned after monsoon’s withdrawal.

 

Positive rural sentiment, supported by a favourable monsoon and strong crop yield expectations, also contributed to robust sales. Commercial tractor sales grew by 39 per cent month-on-month and agricultural trailers by 67 per cent in October.

 

Holiday travel in the festival season typically drives increased use of private and public vehicles, as well as goods movement. This surge in October resulted in an 8.3 per cent month-on-month growth in toll collections via FASTag, alongside fuel sales rising by 20 per cent for diesel and 8 per cent for petrol.