Dhanteras: Migrants fuel car demand

Amit Agnihotri / TNN / Oct 17, 2006, 03:46 IST

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It's festival time and they are readying up to meet the soaring vehicle demand, which this time has increased manifold.

CHANDIGARH: UT car dealers are in overdrive. It's festival time and they are readying up to meet the soaring vehicle demand, which this time has increased manifold, courtesy the migrant population.
According to dealers, as Dhanteras (falling on October 19) is a major festival in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Rajasthan, a large number of people who have come to live in the city from these states are keen on getting the delivery of their new vehicles on October 19.
"Dhanteras bookings are better this time but only in city where a lot of migrant population has come. The trend is not marked in Punjab," says a senior Maruti official.
However, executive director Hind Motors, Ashish M Gupta sees it as a local trend. "Yes, the sales are expected to be better this year. Many customers want to take away their new car on Dhanteras which falls ahead of Diwali."

Whatever may be the difference of opinion, the car dealers are elated over the fact that the sale graph has shown a remarkable upward swing, especially in the entry-level segment.
Revealed a Maruti official: "As compared to September 2005, sales for both Alto and Wagon R models have gone up by over 50% this year. Even the sale of 800 model, which was stable in earlier part of the year, has registered a 30% jump."
"Sales for Tata models like Indica, Zita and Safari are up by 20% in September this year as compared to those in 2005," adds Gupta.
Another interesting trend has been noticed by industry watchers.
There has been a shift towards petrol versions in the below Rs 4 lakh category.
Dealers, though, have a different opinion.
While Maruti men say it was because of lack of any other viable option, Tata camp insists that the sales have been dominated by petrol cars in this segment in the last few years.

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