In top gear: Vehicle sales in Delhi close in on pre-pandemic numbers

New Delhi: The year 2022 seems all set to register the highest vehicle sales in Delhi since the pre-pandemic era. Nearly 4.3 lakh vehicles have been registered in the capital till September 30 this year, an increase of 31% compared with the year-ago period.

A total of 4,26,724 vehicles have been registered in Delhi between January 1 and September 30, compared with 3,25,438 vehicles sold during the same period last year. The registration of cars has gone up by 24.4% during the same period, while two-wheelers have seen sales rise by 32.2%.

Not only personal vehicles, but commercial vehicles too have witnessed a growth in sales this year. Compared with the total 43,451 commercial, 'transport' vehicles registered last year, this year has already recorded the sale of 43,074 vehicles in this category, which includes buses, cabs, goods carriers, e-rickshaws, three-wheelers, ambulances, fire tenders etc.

The sale of commercial vehicles recorded between January and September 2022, is in fact, nearly 30% higher compared with the 33,243 commercial vehicles sold during the same period last year.

With the festive season having begun in October this year, vehicle sales are likely to not just cross the total figure of 4.6 lakh recorded last year but even touch the 5 lakh mark. In 2021, November had recorded the biggest spike in vehicle sales, during the festive season.

The Covid-19 outbreak in 2020 had made a massive dent in vehicle sales, which registered a major dip compared with the total 6,41,514 vehicles registered in 2019. Compared with 2019, the year 2020 saw an overall dip of 32.2% in vehicle sales, which included a dip of 23.3% in sale of cars and a 35.3% decline in sale of two-wheelers.

This year, vehicle sales steadily grew January onwards and only dipped in May. June and July recorded more than 50,000 vehicles being registered each but the number has dipped again in September. Officials said that many people prefer buying new vehicles during the festive season and October is expected to surpass last year's record.

Despite the devastating second wave of Covid-19 cases in April and May, and a second lockdown, Delhi had recorded a 19.1% increase in sale of personal cars in 2021 and an overall growth of 8.1% in vehicle registration compared with 2020, including an impressive 53.4% growth in sale of commercial transport vehicles.

The dip in vehicle sales in the last two years had also affected revenue generation for the Delhi government, but thanks to the vehicle sales during the festive season in November, 2021, some recovery was made by the end of the year. This years promises to be better by the time it comes to an end, according to officials.

Out of the nearly 4.3 lakh vehicles registered till September this year, nearly 41,000 or 9.6% comprise electric vehicles (EV). In fact, 2022 accounts for almost every fourth EV sold in the national capital till date.

While e-rickshaws and e-carts used to comprise the majority of EVs sold in Delhi, this year, these constitute less than 30% of the total EVs sold. In the EV category, the sale of electric two-wheelers is much higher compared with that of electric cars.