Automobile retail sales fall 24% in October on high base effect a year ago

Total vehicle retail sales in October 2026 fell 24% Year on Year (YoY) to 31,72,466 units because of high base effect in the year ago people according to data released by Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA).

But October retail sales grew 25.05% from September 2026.

Measured against that extraordinary base two wheelers and passenger vehicles segments faced decline. Two-Wheelers declined 28.35% and Passenger Vehicles 14.23%. 

Also Read: ‘Best ever September’: Auto retail sales surge 32% year-on-year

But Commercial Vehicles grew 2.29%, Three-Wheelers grew 3.97%, Tractors 3.10% and Construction Equipment grew 22.07%. 

Passenger Vehicles retailed 5,07,768 units, 14.23% below October 2025 but 18.86% above September. Two-Wheelers retailed 23,21,419 units, down 28.35% YoY.

“The YoY decline is almost entirely optical. Last October was an exceptional month that carried both Navratri and Deepawali together, over and above the pent-up demand released after the GST 2.0 rate cuts of 22 September 2025; this year Navratri fell in October while Dhanteras and Diwali move into November, said FADA President Sai Giridhar. 

“Seen correctly, this was still the second-highest October on record — with Commercial Vehicles, Three-Wheelers and Tractors each posting their best-ever October — and the 25% sequential jump over September is the truer measure of festive demand,” Mr Giridhar said. 

“What the YoY numbers conceal is where the decline sits. The sharpest falls are precisely in the most Deepawali-dependent pockets — rural Two-Wheelers, down 33.97% against urban’s 20.77%, and the Northern markets — the very segments and regions our dealers there now expect to lead November,” he said. 

“To our mind this is the signature of demand deferred by the festival calendar, not demand destroyed: the rural, two-wheeler-led buying that powered last October is set to land in this year’s November print,” he added. 

Commercial Vehicles stood out, retailing 1,15,140 units — up 2.29% YoY and 11.19% over September — a best-ever October despite the high base. 

Growth was led by heavier trucks, with HCVs up 28.95% and MCVs 21.16%, even as LCVs eased 9.57%. 

Dealers attribute this to sustained freight movement, infrastructure execution and the haulage of coal, iron ore and e-commerce cargo, making Commercial Vehicles the clearest read-through to the underlying economy, as it is the least festival-dependent of all segments.

EV retails touched an all-time high of about 3.55 lakh units, up 44.88% YoY, lifting overall EV penetration to roughly 11.5% from about 6% a year ago 

Three-Wheelers, now close to 63% electric, posted their best-ever October, and with buyers continuing to move towards CNG, hybrid and electric options, alternative fuels once again nudges past petrol in the Passenger Vehicle mix. 

“This steady, broad-based shift to cleaner mobility — holding firm even in a base-distorted month — is among the most encouraging structural signals in Indian auto retail today,” Mr Giridhar said.