Vehicle sale in top gear this Dhanteras

Sees 20% jump; people rush to buy gold, silver too

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 2

Notwithstanding the Covid-19 pandemic, Dhanteras brought joy to automobile dealers as they reported a 20 per cent increase in sales as compared to last year.

Mohit Pratap Singh, a dealer of Tata Motors and Renault, said nearly 20 per cent jump in the sale of vehicles was witnessed. They received an overwhelming response as the demand was higher than the supply, he said, adding that there was a short supply of vehicles due to shortage of semiconductor chips, which were used in vehicles. The shortage of semiconductor chips had impacted manufacturing of vehicles this year and this shortage could continue till January next year, he added.

With a sharp rise in the prices of petrol and diesel, he said the demand for CNG-fitted vehicles had also increased this time. Due to a short supply of vehicles, many buyers had decided to wait to get CNG-fitted vehicles as the travel cost was quite cheaper in comparison to fossil fuel. He, however, said due to high cost and lack of infrastructure on highways, people were reluctant to buy electric vehicles despite low running cost.

Karan Gilhotra, a dealer of Honda two-wheelers, said the response this Dhanteras was robust in comparison to previous years.

In retail sale of passenger vehicles, the dealers received a more-than-expected response. “On this auspicious day, we have delivered more than 40 vehicles, said Parveen Singh, general manager, Harbir Automobiles, a dealer of Mahindra.

“The demand has surpassed the supply,” he said, adding that they would have to wait for the full supply of vehicles as the manufacturing of vehicles had to be scaled down due to shortage of semiconductor chips, which were imported.

He, however, said there was no impact of Covid-19 on the sale of vehicles, but the shortage of semiconductor chips had affected the supply as manufactures were unable to meet the demand for passenger vehicles.

* Gold glitters

The sale of gold saw an unprecedented increase this Dhanteras. Anil Talwar of Talwar Jewellers said the response was more than expected as the marriage season was going to start soon. With the opening of air travel from Canada and other European countries, a large of NRIs had arrived in India for marriage functions and they were purchasing jewellery in a big way.

Expressing similar views, another jeweller said they had witnessed nearly 120 per cent jump in the sale of gold this time in comparison to the previous year and it appeared that the pre-Covid era had returned this festival season.

Sharad Patil, a jeweller at Burail, said apart from jewellery, people preferred silver and gold coins on the auspicious day.