Auto Sales Takes A Hit In West Bengal Amidst COVID Crisis

West Bengal has recorded a decline in vehicle registration in April 2021 compared to April 2019 which is believed to be a fair growth indicator, given that the country went under a lockdown in April 2020. The number of vehicles registered this month so far (till April 22) are 54,775 units compared to 88,747 units in April 2019, which is a decline of 38.27 per cent. Last April, only 38,885 units pre-booked vehicles were registered in the state. Registration of vehicles is considered to be one of the key indicators of economic health.

Also Read: Auto Sales March 2021: Passenger Vehicle Sales Grew 3% Over February 2021; Total PV Sales In FY2021 Fell By 2%

Car sales were down in Bengal even the previous months.

The state also witnessed a drop in vehicle registration in the previous two months. In February 2021, the registration figure stood at 85,262 units compared to 1,11,347 units in February 2020 and 92,729 units in the same month in 2019. In March 97,400 vehicles were registered in the state (before second wave) compared to 1,73,034 units last March and 97,629 in March 2019.

That said, senior transport department officials said that revenue generation had not taken as big a hit as they had anticipated as resale and registration of old vehicles increased. A lot of people, under distress, had sold their cars to new buyers at low prices. This is also in line with carandbike survey last year according to which sales of used vehicles have increased post COVID crisis. An RTO official in Salt Lake told ET Auto that the used car market had boomed in 2020 as people opted for personal transport, which was considered a safer way to commute over public transport during the pandemic.

Source: ET Auto