Auto retail sales rise nearly 18% in January on high rural demand: Fada

Automobile retail sales rose nearly 18 per cent year-on-year to over 27 lakh units in January, led by continued post-GST momentum, healthy rural cash flows on the back of harvest and weddings, and sustained demand visibility across freight, dealer's body FADA said on Tuesday.

Overall retail sales last month grew to 27,22,558 units, up 17.61 per cent, as against 23,14,940 units in January 2025.

Passenger vehicle retails stood at 5,13,475 units last month, a growth of 7 per cent, as against 4,78,915 units in the year-ago period.

"The growth story is increasingly being written in non-metro India -- Rural PV grew by 14.43 per cent YoY, significantly ahead of Urban at 2.75 per cent YoY.

"This reinforces the structural expansion of PV demand beyond the top cities, aided by a strong SUV/compact-SUV preference, revival of entry-level cars, product availability and continued schemes," FADA President C S Vigneshwar said in a statement.

Two-wheeler retail sales grew 21 per cent year-on-year