Electric Car Sales Surge 143%, Firm Truck Rentals Signal Festive Transport Momentum

Mumbai: September saw a surge in India's transportation sector as festive demand drove vehicle sales and robust freight movement bolstered truck rentals, according to the Shriram Mobility Bulletin. Rentals remained above pre-festive levels on all monitored routes, indicating a strong logistics sector despite fluctuations in fuel usage and toll collections.

Truck rentals increased from Bengaluru to Mumbai to Bengaluru by 1.3% month-over-month, followed by Delhi to Mumbai to Delhi at 1.1% and Delhi to Hyderabad to Delhi at 1%. Other routes experienced slight increases or stayed consistent. Year-over-year growth was most notable on Delhi to Kolkata to Delhi at 13%, followed by Bengaluru to Mumbai to Bengaluru at 11% and Kolkata to Guwahati to Kolkata at 10%. The remaining routes saw growth between 4% and 9%.

The increase in diesel prices and fuel shortages pose a threat to truck movement across India, warning of potential supply chain disruption. Simultaneously, vehicle sales reflected infrastructure momentum, with construction equipment sales climbing 31% from August, earth-moving equipment rising 17%, and goods carriers increasing 13%. Motorcycle, scooter, and passenger car sales each grew by 4%. However, agricultural tractor sales dropped 15% and commercial tractors declined 22%.

Electric vehicle sales accelerated, with electric cars leading at 143% annual growth, followed by electric three-wheelers at 113% and electric two-wheelers at 111%. Monthly sales for electric cars rose 12%, for three-wheelers by 8%, and for two-wheelers by 13%. Alternative fuel vehicles, including CNG, hybrid, and electric vehicles, overtook petrol cars for the first time, as CNG, hybrid, and EV sales increased.

Interestingly, while petrol consumption fell 5% month-over-month, diesel rose 2%. Annual consumption saw a 7.2% increase in diesel and 4.9% in petrol. FASTag transaction volumes declined 3.9% sequentially, with collection value slipping 1.2%. Despite this, volumes grew 1% year-over-year, while value increased 11%. Shriram Finance executive Sudarshan Holla noted that strong commercial vehicle and construction equipment demand reflected infrastructure momentum, but warned of potential sentiment dampening due to concerns about a festive-season interest rate increase.