India's automobile market clocked retail sales of nearly 11.23 lakh units across the 10-day Navratri 2026 window, according to data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) on Wednesday, 21 October 2026. The numbers, FADA said, tell a 'fundamentally healthy' story about consumer demand heading into the peak festive season.

Year-on-Year Surge Over Navratri 2024

Retail sales during this year's Navratri were up nearly 27 per cent compared to Navratri 2024 — the last genuinely comparable festive period. Passenger vehicle retails rose by more than 10 per cent, while two-wheeler sales surged by over 32 per cent. The figures confirm that discretionary spending on personal mobility remains robust across segments.

A 6.52 per cent dip versus Navratri 2025 was flagged by the association, but attributed to structural differences rather than weakening demand. FADA President Sai Giridhar explained the comparison plainly: 'The marginal 6.52 per cent dip versus Navratri 2025 is largely optical: last year Navratri ran 11 days against 10 and coincided with the GST 2.0 roll-out, which pulled a wave of pent-up demand into one extraordinary window.'

EV Retails Cross 10% of Festive Sales

The single most significant data point in FADA's release is the electrification trend. Electric vehicle (EV) retails grew 26.78 per cent during Navratri 2026 and now account for close to 10.5 per cent of all festive auto sales — up sharply from approximately 7.7 per cent a year ago. This comes amid deepening charging infrastructure rollouts and a maturing range of affordable EV models in both the two-wheeler and passenger-vehicle segments. Giridhar described the shift as 'self-sustaining', a term that carries weight given how recently EV adoption in India was considered fragile and subsidy-dependent.

September 2026: Industry's Best-Ever Month

Separately, FADA data confirmed that domestic automobile retail sales in September 2026 hit a record 25,36,920 units — a 31.82 per cent year-on-year increase, also aided by a low base from September 2025, when purchases were deferred ahead of the GST 2.0 implementation. Month-on-month, September sales were up 4.69 per cent over August.

The industry recorded its best-ever September across five of the six vehicle categories. Segment-wise, two-wheeler sales rose 33.08 per cent year-on-year to 17,90,188 units, while passenger vehicle sales climbed 32.10 per cent to 4,27,213 units. Commercial vehicle sales grew 37.62 per cent to 1,03,557 units — crossing the one-lakh mark in September for the first time on record.

H1 FY27 Sets New Retail Milestone

The first half of FY27 (April–September 2026) also delivered record retail sales of 1,55,12,319 units, up 20.77 per cent year-on-year. This positions the industry on a strong trajectory ahead of the critical Dhanteras-to-Diwali selling window, which typically accounts for a disproportionate share of annual volumes.

Giridhar noted the industry's guarded confidence heading into that period: 'As we enter the Dhanteras-to-Diwali wave, we remain cautiously optimistic: affordability is strong, aspiration is rising, and auto retail continues to mirror the enduring momentum of the India Growth Story.' Whether that momentum is sustained will depend on rural income trends, fuel prices, and the pace of new model launches over the coming weeks.