J&K automobile sales buck retail slump, shift gears with new year growth

Srinagar, Feb 8: Even as most of the retail verticals of economic activity in Jammu and Kashmir have seen a slowdown of late, primarily owing to more online sales and less disposable incomes, the automobile sales have been able to spring a surprise with the Union Territory recording 4.2 per cent year-on-year growth in January this year.

Although the marginal growth recorded in J&K,  is lesser than the all-India average growth of 6.63 per cent considering the winter season, especially the coldest period of ‘Chilai Kalan’, growth of 4.2 per cent shows an improvement in buying sentiment as far as automobiles 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 16.27 per cent growth in automobile sales, while Punjab recorded a 16.77 per cent spurt in automobile sales during January 2025 as compared to the same month last year. Delhi recorded 11.39 per cent growth while Uttar Pradesh logged 8.15 per cent growth in retail automobile sales during January.

In terms of category-wise sales of vehicles, J&K recorded 14.86 per cent growth in retail sales of passenger vehicles.in January. However, sales of commercial vehicles during the same period this year have been abysmal, witnessing a sharp decrease registering - a 22.45 per cent dip as compared to January 2024.

Commenting on this trend, Chief Executive Officer, Fairdeal Motors, Amjad Khan told Greater Kashmir that sales of commercial vehicles (CVs) have seen a decrease across categories.

“Be it the sales of trucks, tippers or buses, overall sales of commercial vehicles has been on a decline. The commercial vehicle segment has been hit hard which is clear in the sales data,” said Khan. Apart from these commercial vehicles, the drop in sales trajectory has also been noticed in three-wheeler sales which have seen a fall of -12 per cent in January 2025.

However, as per FADA data, the sharpest spike in sales has been witnessed in retail sales of tractors, which registered a year-on-year growth of 44.36 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 back of the hot-selling segment of gearless scooters, has now gone into the red. The two-wheeler retail data released by FADA suggests a fall in sales in J&K which stood at -0.03 per cent.