Beating the heatwave, J&K recorded 17% growth in construction equipment sales during June

Srinagar, Jul 23: Amid a slump in retail business activity and considerable dip in tourism influx, developmental sector and other road, building works continue to trigger sales of construction equipment in Jammu and Kashmir

While most of the business segments in J&K have witnessed a slowdown of late, the Construction Equipment (CE) sales have remained steady, with the Union Territory recording 16.36 percent increase in sales of CE’s during June this year, as per Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), a national-level umbrella body of automobile retail dealerships.

The CE category witnessed a growth of 16.36 percent at 64 units in June 2025, as compared to 55 units in June 2024. This could be an indicator that construction works, including civil works, were not majorly affected by the unprecedented heatwave experienced in the UT this summer. Notably, in its monthly automobile sales data, FADA has included construction equipment as a new category.

Among as many as seven segments, including cars and commercial vehicles, Jammu & Kashmir has witnessed the highest sales growth in the construction equipment segment during June. Construction equipment includes heavy equipment such as excavators, bulldozers, cranes, and loaders, as well as compact machinery like skid-steer loaders and mini-excavators.

The Union Territory also recorded 5.87 per cent year-on-year growth in automobile sales during June this year, as per FADA data.

Although the growth recorded in J&K, is just a marginal increase than the all-India average growth of 4.84 per cent but considering extremely hot weather conditions in June, a period when economic activity is dull, growth of 5.87 per cent shows a positive buying sentiment as far as automobiles are concerned, said auto experts.

Sanjay Aggarwal, Chairperson of FADA Jammu said that June 2025 presented a mixed bag for the automobile sector in Jammu & Kashmir with YoY% growth of 5.87 percent.

“While footfalls in showrooms remained steady in some areas, actual conversions were slower than expected. Economic uncertainty, coupled with erratic weather and delays in monsoon-related agricultural activity, affected customer sentiment—particularly in rural and semi urban pockets,” he said.

Aggarwal said, “We remain cautiously optimistic heading into the next quarter. With the onset of the festive season and better clarity around rural incomes, we expect momentum to gradually build across vehicle categories,”

“Dealers are working closely with OEMs to roll out region-specific offers, enhance after-sales support, and promote digital retail channels to reach more customers,” he added.

As per FADA, neighbouring Himachal Pradesh logged 27.30 per cent growth in automobile sales, while Punjab recorded 18.47 per cent growth in automobile sales during June, 2025 as compared to the same month last year. Delhi recorded 18.24 per cent growth while Uttar Pradesh logged 3.96 per cent growth in retail automobile sales during June.

In terms of category wise sales of vehicles, J&K recorded -3.85 per cent degrowth in retail sales of passenger vehicles in June. Sales of commercial vehicles during the same period this year has seen a decrease by 15.80 per cent.

However, this figure is much abysmal compared to almost 6 per cent per cent dip seen in commercial vehicle sales during May in J&K earlier this year.

Although overall commercial vehicle sales in J&K have disappointed, the sales trajectory in three-wheelers has seen a year-on-year increase of 3.84 per cent in June.

However, as per FADA data, a spike in sales has been witnessed in retail sales of tractors, which registered a year-on-year growth of 7.46 per cent in J&K. Interestingly, the two-wheeler segment, which had been a front-runner in automobile sales during the last one decade, on the back of the hot-selling segment of gearless scooters, which had gone into the red during the winter period, has now witnessed a recovery in sales during June. The two-wheeler retail data released by FADA suggests a year-on-year growth of 15.49 per cent in June sales in J&K. This segment had seen a marginal year-on-year increase in sales of less than 2 per cent in May, 2025.