Lockdown in Delhi drags car sales down by a whopping 87% | Delhi News

NEW DELHI: Covid-19 has made a massive dent in the sale of vehicles in the country’s car capital. Compared to this January, when the pandemic was yet to become a part of a Delhiite’s daily lexicon, the registration of cars has dipped by 87% in May. The picture is slightly better for two-wheelers – a 74% dip during the same period. A transport department official said while the car registration was sluggish, two-wheeler sales were expected to pick up faster. The exact breakup is not available, but gearless scooters are selling the most now, he added.
In January, 15,661 cars were registered in the 13 regional transport offices (RTOs) of Delhi. In the same month, 32,464 two-wheelers were registered. In May, the numbers stood at 2,084 cars and 8,543 two-wheelers – the latter being four times more than the former.

“A four-wheeler is a much bigger investment than a two-wheeler and also costs more to run and maintain. In the present scenario, it will take some time for car sales to match the pre-Covid-19 times,” the official said. “The two-wheeler sales will pick up faster and while the price difference between a motorcycle or a scooter and a gearless scooters is not astronomical, gearless scooters are easier to ride and more economical to run,” he added.
Vehicle registrations were mostly closed after the lockdown was announced in March end. Though it resumed in May, many dealers found it difficult to function properly and the odd-even rule also affected operations, the official said. “Now that the odd-even rule is over and more relaxations have been added, there will be some improvement,” he said.
It’s been a difficult time for the vehicle dealers. “They had to pay both staff and rent in many cases. Vehicle dealerships are usually spacious and located in prime commercial locations, which means higher rent,” he said. South Delhi has witnessed the highest number of registrations in May. The highest number of cars – 306 – were registered at south zone II RTO.