Electric 3 wheelers steer J&K’s vehicle sector toward growth

Srinagar, Aug 11: With a slump in overall automobile sales during July, the three-wheeler category, led by electric autos, continues to chart its growth story by retaining positive sales momentum in J&K.

While all the automobile segments in J&K witnessed a slowdown of late on the back of less disposable incomes and a subdued market, the three-wheeler category sales have remained steady, with the Union Territory recording 2.46 per cent year-on-year growth in sales of 3-wheelers in July this year, a month that saw passenger vehicle sales fall by 13.09 per cent.

Although the growth recorded in three-wheeler sales in J&K is just a marginal one,  it shows an improvement compared to the all-India average de-growth of  - 4.31 per cent. The growth of 2.46 percent in three-wheeler sales shows a positive buying sentiment as far as automobiles used in public transport are concerned, said auto experts.

As per the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), a national-level umbrella body of automobile retail dealerships, neighbouring Himachal Pradesh logged – 1.1 per cent de-growth in automobile sales, while Punjab recorded a 9 per cent de-growth in automobile sales during July 2025 as compared to the same month last year. Delhi recorded 14.6 per cent growth while Uttar Pradesh saw -14  per cent de-growth in retail automobile sales during July.

In terms of category-wise sales of vehicles, J&K recorded  - 13.09  per cent drop in retail sales of passenger vehicles in July. Sales of commercial vehicles during the same period this year have seen a decrease of 22.89 per cent. However, this in a way is an improvement, as the same double-digit year-on-year drop in commercial vehicle sales was seen in the last few months in Jammu and Kashmir.

Although overall commercial vehicle sales in J&K had disappointed earlier in April, the sales trajectory in three-wheelers saw a sharp year-on-year increase of 18.24 per cent in April as well.

However, as per FADA data, the retail sales of tractors, which registered a year-on-year growth between January and June in J&K this year, have seen a drop in sales by 3.31 per cent. Interestingly, the two-wheeler segment, which had been a front-runner in automobile sales during the last decade, on the back of the hot-selling segment of gearless scooters, and had gone into the red during the winter period, has now witnessed yet another month with a drop in sales during July by 3.34 per cent.