After demonetisation, dip in old and new vehicle registrations in Mumbai

“We had witnessed a huge lull in sales post demonetisation. Though the purchase of vehicles is hardly cash-based or more through online methods, a fear of losing out on acceptable currency could have dissuaded buyers from putting money in buying them. We incurred huge losses during this period,” said Gurupreet Thurkral, owner of Mumbai auto ware company who deals in cars in Sion.

The areas around Thane, Kalyan, Vashi,Vasai and Panvel regions also witnessed a 13 per cent decline in the registration of vehicles. From 9,225 vehicles registered before demonetisation, 7,957 vehicles were registered in the period after the ban on notes.

“Thane and Panvel region usually remain on the higher side for registration of vehicles. Post demonetisation of high-end notes, motorists would have put off an immediate purchase of vehicles anticipating any more change. As registration of four-wheelers still remain more urgent than that of two-wheelers, no specific impact was seen on purchase of the latter,” a senior transport official said.

Officials also said that December is a lean season for heavy registration of vehicles considering motorists are on the lookout for purchase of new car models. “Vehicles are not registered much during year-end considering a new year’s date gives more life to the vehicle. Adding an extra month of December of the past year only makes the model older to be sold in future,” said another official.

“Demonetisation was a sudden announcement which did impact the purchasing behaviour of consumers. The period also contained the months of November and December which always see a slow registration process. An analysis after people’s recovery and more cash in hand could show clearer results,” said Ketan Goradia, transport expert.

However, Maharashtra witnessed a 5 per cent surge in new vehicle registrations in November last year. It actually recorded the highest sales in the past three months or the corresponding period, the year before.

“A sale of 2,44,743 vehicles in comparison to 2,40,153 vehicles in October (Dussehra period) reveals an investment of abolished notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 in purchasing vehicles. Areas including Nashik, Kolhapur, Pune which see a high demand of two-wheeler purchase could have contributed to the rise,” a senior official said. Vehicle owners also delayed purchasing second-hand vehicles post demonetisation announcement as a 25 per cent dip has been witnessed in the same.

Only 4,744 second-hand vehicles were registered in November and December compared to 6,262 second-hand vehicle registration 45 days before demonetisation. “The dip or marginal increase could be a temporary phenomenon affected by temporary reasons. A year on year growth could probably be a better indicator of vehicle registration in the city,” said urban issues and development expert Rishi Agarwal.