Vehicle retail sales in India rose 31.82% year‑on‑year to a record 25,36,920 units in September, making it the best‑ever September for the automobile retail industry, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said on Tuesday. The figure represents a 4.69% increase over August, with five of the six major vehicle categories posting their best‑ever September performance. Commercial vehicle retail sales crossed the one‑lakh mark in September for the first time.

FADA also reported that April‑September retail sales reached a record 1,55,12,319 units, up 20.77% year‑on‑year, marking the best‑ever first half of a financial year. The data, collated as of October 3 in collaboration with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, covered 1,468 of 1,469 RTOs.

Two‑wheeler sales rose 33.08% year‑on‑year to 17,90,188 units, while passenger vehicle retail sales increased 32.10% to a record 4,27,213 units. Commercial vehicle sales jumped 37.62% to 1,03,557 units, three‑wheeler sales rose 22.25% to 1,32,570 units and wheeled construction equipment sales increased 38% to 6,486 units. Tractor sales grew 13.75% to 76,906 units, although they declined 12.58% from August, making the segment the only major category to witness a sequential fall.

FADA said total EV retail sales across categories touched an all‑time monthly high of around 3.34 lakh units in September, taking overall electric vehicle penetration to about 13%. FADA President Sai Giridhar said September was the best‑ever September in Indian auto retail, noting that the 31.82% growth is the most base‑distorted print of the year but that cleaner signals were the record performance across five of the six categories. The growth, however, needs to be viewed against a low base as buyers had deferred purchases in September last year ahead of the implementation of GST 2.0 on September 22, 2025.

The festive season is expected to provide another boost to retail sales in October. FADA said 75.57% of dealers expect growth this month, while 19.46% expect a flat market and 4.98% foresee a decline. The industry body expects the festive season to drive a pickup in deliveries from the middle of October during Navratri and Dussehra, with 63% of dealers already having booking pipelines building up. For October‑December, 78.28% of dealers expect growth, while 17.65% expect a flat market and 4.07% anticipate de‑growth. FADA said affordability would remain a key factor for sustaining demand, as further price increases could erode the benefit consumers received from GST 2.0.